


Fuller House: Cruel Summer

by comixgirl



Series: Cruel Summer [1]
Category: Fuller House (TV)
Genre: F/M, Horror, Mystery, Romance, Thriller
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-09-25
Updated: 2020-10-22
Packaged: 2021-03-07 18:08:18
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence, Major Character Death
Chapters: 5
Words: 24,428
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/26641945
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/comixgirl/pseuds/comixgirl
Summary: Set the Summer after Graduation, a recently broken up Jackson and Rocki are counselors at a Summer Camp.  The problem is the counselors are disappearing one by one.Story will be updated every Friday in October.
Relationships: Jackson Fuller/Rocki
Series: Cruel Summer [1]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1988020
Comments: 24
Kudos: 4





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> AN: This story is inspired by my love of the Horror/Slasher genre and my desire to branch out once again into a different type of story for our favorite Fuller House characters. The location and events are completely fictional but borrowed from other works of fiction.
> 
> AN: First person Italics is the killers perspective.
> 
> Original Cast: Mystery Girl: Peyton List, Tori Fielding: Zendaya, Miranda Costas: Mia Xitlali
> 
> Fuller House Cast: Jackson Fuller, Rocki Mahan, Chad Brad Bradley, Ethan, Sienna

~ Tuesday May 25, 2021 ~

The sun is starting to set but I can clearly see the disheveled young woman as she runs through the treeline trying to make it back to the main road. I'm sure that she is praying for some kind of vehicle to miraculously appear that she can wave down and make it back to civilization. However this area is so sparsely populated that the likelihood of a car or truck passing by at this time of the day is very unlikely.

I came across my prey as she was on her way through town. She had traveled by bus to the small town of Forest Green, California and was going to walk the distance from town to her destination despite the fact the hike was twenty miles away. The walk would take her the better part of the day, a fact I was well aware of after I overheard her conversation with Janet, the diner waitress. The town people are very skittish about outsiders thanks to what happened back in 1996 but her beauty put many of the men in the diner at easy.

The girl thanks Janet and heads out. I pay for my food, leave Janet the same tip I always have since I started coming here, then head out to my SUV. I allow her to walk to the outskirts of town before I start up my old Honda CR-V. I give her a few more minutes to clear the view of the townsfolk walking about before I make my way down the road. I caught up to her in no time and the silly young girl holds out her thumb, the universal signal for hitchhikers. I pull along side her and she inquires if I am going past her destination. I simply nod and mumble for her to get in. The eager young woman tosses her things in the back of my vehicle and climbs into the passenger seat. She introduces herself to me and we begin our journey. She's a bit of a chatterbox, talking about how excited she is for her job opportunity and what her plans for the future are. I wait three miles before I offer her a cold bottle of water. She gladly accepts it and begins guzzling it down. Another two miles goes by and I see that she is beginning to nod off. She manages a few more words by the seventh mile before the sedative in the water fully kicks in and she passes out as I speed to our true destination.

When the young blonde girl finally wakes up we are at an old hunting cabin that is about five miles past the turn off to where she wanted to be. She sits up from the simple cot and takes in her surroundings. "Where am I?" She asks realizing she is not where she is supposed to be, nor how she got here.

I say nothing, I simply point to the wall where I have left a map pinned to a nail. In red marker I have it marked YOU ARE HERE. A long red line is drawn with the path to place she wanted to go which is circled and the word DESTINATION. A post-it note bellow the map has all the information she needs, Take the Map and RUN!

The girl looks back at me, my face is obstructed by the hat and dark glasses I am wearing, as well as the fact that I am sitting in the shadows. However I slowly reach out with my right arm and collect a professional Recurve Bow and once my hand is in the grip I raise my bow. She watches in fear as I move my left arm, I reach into my quiver full of arrows and draw one and swiftly load it into my bow. The girl in question snatches the map and rushes out the door in a haste. I on the other hand simply stride over to the door and exit the cabin at my leisure as I can predict the girl's movements.

I watch as she darts in a hurry for the forest and I allow her to reach the treeline before I give her a taste of what she is in for. With my arrow loaded I draw back the bowstring and once my target is sighted I release the fletching of the arrow. The arrow flies straight cutting through the air making a whizzing sound before it is impaled on the tree mere inches from the girl's right hand. The young girl lets out a shriek of terror realizing she was almost impaled on the tree. I smile as she probably believes I missed... but I didn't. I had deliberately aimed above where her hand was on the tree with the intent to startle her. Mission accomplished as I did not want to end this game so soon, I was simply making a point to my prey.

I watch as the young woman makes the fools error and tries to go in the direction most directly through the woods that by all intents, should have been the quickest way to her destination. Unfortunately for her, she does not pay attention to the elevation changes in the map and does not know the area and the direct path leads to a large cliff. The destination she is trying to reach is built off the lake front and the descent from that spot is about a hundred plus feet down a jagged rock formation. The girl changes course when she realizes she has no recourse but to do so as I knew she would. She is forced to go right and to the north heading back to the main road. As she was not aware of her circumstances before this encounter the young woman had worn a canary yellow t-shirt and light tan shorts making it extremely easy for me to keep an eye on her position while I am followed her at a safe distance, completely unseen. Unlike her, I know the terrain and the route she has to take to get to the main road and can move about with ease while she attempts to evade me.

The look of elation on her face when she finds the main road is almost too sweet as she actually stops for a moment to catch her breath. That's when I remind her how hopeless her situation actually is by tagging her in her right shoulder blade with an arrow. The young woman falls to the ground screaming in pain from my arrow. I remain stationary as I watch the poor young thing push herself off the ground, clutch the map in her hand and with the arrow still lodged in her shoulder blade ran for the road. I allow the girl to make it as far as the treeline before I decide to end our little game. The new owners of the property in question have had workmen fixing up the old structures and it wouldn't do to have someone discover me before its time. Loading one final arrow, I take aim and watch the girl's movements and when the time is right I release the arrow. The end was never in question, just the when but the poor girl did make things interesting for this little game. I watch as the arrow flies true and just as the girl moves to the left of a tree my arrow strike her through the back of her neck, severing her spinal cord and the arrow punctures through her mouth.

The girl takes one last step before she slowly falls to the ground. I make my way towards her lifeless body. I tap it several time with my boot and when I'm sure she's in fact dead I remove the arrows and heft her up on to my shoulders. As I make my way back to my vehicle one thought is on my mind. She should never have come here... none of them should have. As the sun sets over the horizon the young girl can take comfort in knowing that she will soon have company in the afterlife.

~ Thursday May 27, 2021 ~

Bobby Popko was on the outskirts of Forest Green, California in his new red Toyota Tundra truck that he had received as a graduation gift from all his family. The fact that he actually graduated on time with his class was a wonder and worth celebrating. Popko, as he preferred to be called, had taken a job with his best friend Jackson Fuller for the summer playing camp counselors to a bunch of kids starting the first week of June until the third week of July. The duration of the camps went from Sunday evening when kids would arrived by bus until Friday morning when the bus returned to take them back to their drop off point.

Popko had left a day before the counselors were all due to arrive as he had to pick up Jackson who had left home earlier in the week due to a disagreement with his mother over his personal life. He didn't know why Jackson had decided to stay in the middle of nowhere for a few days but Jackson insisted he needed a break from San Francisco and his family in particular. Popko knew that a large part of that need for a break had to do with a certain raven haired girl that had dumped him at the insistence of her mother. Jackson was sitting outside of the modest motel that he had stayed at for the past four days. His only possessions were a backpack full of clothes (Popko guessed) and whatever was in the two black cases that were on the ground besides his pack. Jackson had called Popko from the hotel the day before asking his best friend to pick up up on his way to camp.

"Hey Popko, thanks for picking me up on your way." Jackson states as he places his belongings in the uncovered bed of Popko's truck.

"No problem Action Jackson... It was only a thirty minute side trip. I still don't see why you didn't just go to the camp." Popko commented.

"I had some... business to attend to." Jackson says stoically. "Besides, its nice and quiet here, it was a welcome change from the hustle and bustle of my family's house." Jackson states as he climbs into the cab of Popko's truck.

"I bet... so what's in the cases?" Popko inquired as he shifted his truck out of park and back into drive. Taking his foot off the break, the duo made their way to Forest Green.

Placing his sun glasses on his face, Jackson says, "I'll show you when we get to the camp."

"So Rocki..." Ramona Gibbler says as the two drive down the path for Camp Forest Green. "Eight whole weeks in the woods with your ex-boyfriend... are you sure this is how you want to spend the summer before you start college?"

"I know it may seem weird to you Ramona, I know how you just enjoy confrontations and being stuck in the middle of situations..." Rocki says sarcastically. Ramona sticks her tongue out makes a face at Rocki in response. "I know Jackson didn't like that I caved into our moms wishes that we stop dating before I go to college and Jackson heads off to his programing course. However while we are in the same location we will be far to busy dealing with kids in different parts of the camp grounds to worry about awkward interaction. With the exceptions of meal time I doubt we'll be seeing much of one another all summer." Explained Rocki. "Besides, Jackson and I signed contracts so we're stuck."

Ramona just let it go. She felt really bad for her best friend and brother. It sucked that DJ and Gia thought that they knew what was best of Jackson and Rocki going forward after they all graduated. True, she herself had broken up with Ethan as he was going to be going to school in the southwest while she was going to be on the east coast. With their hectic schedules there was no way that she was going to force him not to explore his options while he was at school and better to make a clean break at the beginning of summer than to have one last fling before summer came to an end.

Ramona decided to stop focusing on everyone's crappy love life and take in the gorgeous scenery of Forest Green. It was a very small town. Everything worth doing was apparently on Main Street and once you were out of the main town it was nothing but loads of trees and beautiful scenery as far as the eye could see. She didn't know if she could ever live her entire life in a town this small but she could easily enjoy a short stay here. As her car came around the bend she saw the lake. It was so calm, so blue. Their was a dock that extended several feet and what appeared to be a raft tied to the end of it.

A huge building, Ramona guessed it was the common area, was to the left. It must be quite a sight to behold from the lake. The building has a second floor that appeared to have a few living quarters, or so she suspected. Several modest sized cabins (for the counselors) and several large cabins for the kids flanked each side of the main building.

"This place looks amazing." Ramona comments as she slows her vehicle and takes in all the sights.

"I like it." Rocki adds as she looks around at the rustic cabins. The air is so clean here thanks to the abundance of trees and small population of the area.

Ramona pulls over by a pair of rather pricey cars, cars you would never expect to see in the woods that's for sure. Killing the engine, Ramona climbs out as does her passenger who quickly makes her way to the trunk to claim her belongings.

"Hi." A welcome comes from the direction of the nearest cabin. Rocki and Ramona see two women about the same age as them walking towards them. One is Hispanic and the other is of African-American heritage.

"I'm Tori Fielding." The African-American girl announces. "I'm the nurse on call." Rocki shakes her hand and says hello as does Ramon. Rocki quickly sizes up the lovely young woman as being just an inch shorter than Jackson based on her relative height to her five foot three inch frame. She has straight dark brown hair and brown eyes.

"I'm Miranda Costas and I am one of the swimming coaches." The Hispanic girl states. She too is taller than Rocki but not as tall as Tori. Rocki guesses she is about five foot and either six or seven inches. Miranda's eyes are brown, and her hair is straight and black but not as long as Rocki's as it stops just bellow her collar bone.

"Well I am Roxanne Mahan but everyone calls me Rocki." The dark haired young woman proclaims as she introduces herself. "I'm the games coach. This is Ramona Gibbler, my personal chauffeur. She's not staying."

"Well fortune shines upon me... I thought I was going to have to put up with the two of you for the duration of the summer." A shrilly voice announced from behind Rocki and Ramona. Like someone had dragged their nails down a chalk board, Rocki and Ramona cringed as they turned about and came face to face with... Sienna Logan. The five foot eight inch girl with curly blonde hair (which was currently pony tailed) and blue eyes was making her way over to the group of young women.

"Chad didn't tell me I would have to put up with you this summer when he hired me." Sienna says getting in Rocki's face.

"Chad... Chad Brad Bradley is here too?" Rocki asks unaware of these two facts.

"Of course he is. His father owns this camp. Chad is the manager and I am the assistant manager." Sienna informs her former schoolmates as she looks at her clipboard and makes a checkmark on the page.

"Suddenly this place has lost a lot of its appeal." Ramona mutters to Rocki as she closes her trunk.

"You are not wrong." Rocki mumbles in response as she slings her bag and grabs her suitcase.

"So with Rocki here that just leaves Ann Phillips for the girls, she will be your cabin companion Rocki... if she ever shows up." Sienna explains. "We are still missing three of the guys; our male swim coach, our designated lifeguard and our archery instructor."

"To be fair when we were hired the owner informed us that we didn't have to be here until 2 PM tomorrow." Tori Fielding reminds the assistant manager.

"Yes but the sooner everyone is her the sooner we can begin going over all the rules and prepare for the kids arrival on Sunday. If we get the orientation done tomorrow we can all have Saturday off." Sienna relates. "You might as well go set up in your cabin Rocki, that way you get your pick of beds and bedding." The assistant manager takes that as her opportunity to excuse herself from the conversation and heads back to the common area where Chad is waiting for her to let him know how many people are here now and prepare for opening day.

"She's a real people person." Miranda states when Sienna is out of ear shot.

"You have no idea." Ramona and Rocki state in stereo. All the girls laugh at the situation and Ramona helps Rocki carry her things to her cabin.

At that same moment in time Popko and his best friend Jackson Fuller are at the gas station in the middle of Forest Green filling up the gas tanks on Popko's truck. Popko's parents had sprung for the model with a reserve tank so it took twice as long to fill it up but lasted twice as long as well (as long as he didn't burn it all up in four wheel drive mode). Popko was sitting in the cab as he watched the numbers tick by.

"Ok... so according to the ever so helpful attendant in the gas station we're about twenty miles away from the camp. We take Main Street ten miles then turn right at the sign and follow it for about ten more miles and we will be at the camp." Jackson tells his friend who is still filling the gas tank.

Popko is about to ask what Jackson meant about the helpful attendant when a Greyhound bus pulls into the town and the pair hear the buses brakes squealing as the bus comes to a stop. The pair watch as three people disembark, two passengers and the bus driver. The driver opens the luggage compartment and pulls out their travel packs and luggage from the rack. The older man then closes up the compartment, locks it and once his former passengers are clear drives off for his next stop. The pair are talking and don't notice the looks that the two young men standing by the truck are giving them.

"Ethan!" Popko calls out when he sees the former Post-mates delivery guy about to put his pack on his back.

Jackson waves at his sister's ex-boyfriend who is now looking in their direction. He does not however recognize the striking blonde haired girl besides him with a pack of her own. "Hey Ethan." Jackson greets the young man.

"Oh my god guys..." Ethan says trotting over and giving the two a knuckles greeting. "Please tell me you're counselors at Camp Forest Green?" Ethan asks very hopeful.

"Why... what's it worth to you?" Popko asks giving his friend with a raised eyebrow expression like Dwayne "The Rock" Johnson tended to do.

"Google Maps hasn't updated this area in ages but the last one I tried mapping out says we're at least twenty miles from the camp and something tells me these people don't have a local uber... or maybe even a taxi." Ethan states.

"Ethan... where are your manners?" Popko asks his acquaintance in regard the lovely young woman besides him.

"I'm sorry, Ann Phillips these are my friends. The driver over there is Bobby Popko..." Ethan states as he points to the suave young man on the drivers side.

"Hello... you can just call me Popko." The driver informs the beautiful blonde who smiles at his statement.

"The strong silent guy on the passenger side is Jackson Fuller. We all lived in San Francisco and I was their Post-mates delivery guy before I took the lifeguard job at Camp Forest Green." Ethan informs Ann.

"Hello." Jackson says. He walks over, politely shakes Ann's hand and then collects Ann's backpack and bag. He walks it over to the bed of the truck and gingerly places it in the back of Popko's truck. Popko notices the pretty blonde girl blushes slightly at Jackson.

Ethan places his pack besides Ann's belongings. "Ann and I met on the bus. She lives a couple of towns back and is the cook for Camp Forest Green."

"Well you guys can thank Jackson for your good fortune. If I hadn't had to go off the beaten path to stop and pick him up along the way I would have already filled up my gas tank and driven to the camp site before you even got here." Popko explained. "Well why don't you guys get into the back of the cab, Ann, you can sit up front."

Jackson and Ethan entered the back of the cab and made themselves comfortable while Ann climbed into the front seat and shut the door. Popko had already prepaid for the gas so once everyone was buckled in he restarted his truck and shifted into drive the group was off and on their way to Camp Forest Green.

Some time later Popko pulls his truck up along the two cars parked besides two of what he guessed were counselor cabins. Shutting down the engine of his truck, the group open the doors and climb out of the truck's cab. The quartet stretch as they had been sitting for quite some time (even longer for Ann and Ethan).

"Well, four for four... welcome to Camp Forest Green people." Chad Brad Bradley announces as he walks towards the newest and last arrivals. He recognize the three males right away. Jackson and Popko from school and Ethan was his Post-mates delivery guy.

"Hi... you must be Ann. I'm Chad Brad Bradley, the manager of this fine campground." Chad say to the newly arrived girl. Most of the hiring, with the exception of Sienna, was done by his father, the camp owner so he had not met the nurse, swim coach nor Ann until they arrived here. He had to admit his father had good taste. "Ann you are in that cabin on the far left of the main hall and you are rooming with Roxanne Mahan."

Jackson collected Ann's things and offered to carry them for her but she waved him off. She thanked him but said she would be fine.

"Popko... Ethan, you have that cabin over there." Chad informed the pair pointing the rustic cabin to the right of the main hall.

"Jackson, as the Archery Instructor you get the range cabin." Chad informs Jackson. "Also the archery range is one of the few things that still needs to be set up so as soon as you're settled in please... get on that." Chad stated before

"Yes sir." Jackson replied with a faux salute before he grabbed his belongings and made his way to the range cabin. No sooner than he put his belongings into his room Jackson heard a knock at his door. Turning he found Ethan and Popko standing in his door way.

"Wow... not bad, you're own bachelor pad for the summer." Popko states.

"You guys can't be set up already." Jackson says matter-of-factually.

"We're not. We just thought we would help you get the archery range set up first." Ethan informs their friend.

"And see what's in those cases." Popko reminds Jackson. Jackson tosses his friend the keys to unlock the target shed. While he picks up the cases in question and carries them outside.

"Well, between the three of us we should have it ready in no time." Ethan say as he allows Jackson to lead the way.

"So Jackson Fuller has finally arrived." Sienna announces as the blonde beauty makes her way down the path from the main campground to the archery range. Accompanying her are two ladies that Jackson, Ethan and Popko don't recognize.

"Hello Sienna." Bobby Popko greets the girl he dated for a very short amount of time.

"Popko... I didn't see you there. Strike that, I saw you, I just chose to ignore you." Sienna snidely states. "Tori Fielding, Miranda Costas... may I introduce Jackson Fuller, Ethan Edwards … and Bobby Popko."

"So have you three met Roxanne yet?" Miranda asks the trio.

"We know Rocki." All three guys say at the same time.

"Wow... tough crowd." Tori states.

"She's an old friend." Ethan states as he hands one of the archer targets to Popko.

"She use to date my best friend." Popko says handing the target to Jackson.

Jackson takes the target and hangs it on the stand. The two counselors are waiting for Jackson to chime in. After a few quiet moments pass Sienna is the one that fills in the blanks for the pair, "Jackson is her ex-boyfriend."

"Ohhhhhh." Tori and Miranda reply understanding the situation.

"And what do you two lovely ladies specialize in?" Popko asks laying on the charm.

"I am the nurse, well I'm working on my nursing degree but I'm certified in first aid and am a qualified life guard." Tori informs the guys.

"Good to know I have a back up as I am the primary lifeguard on duty." Ethan states as he shakes hands with the two girls.

"I am the girls swim coach." Miranda states as Popko moves forward.

"And I am the boys swim coach." Popko announces reminding everyone that he is here.

Jackson has remained rather quiet during this exchange other than making simple pleasantries. "Well... now that we've all met and the Archery Range is set up why don't we go back and get things squared away before dinner and we will go over everything that you can expect tomorrow." Sienna says. Sienna leads the two pairs of guys and gals back up the path to the main campground while Jackson makes his way back to his cabin to set up his home away from home.

Dinner was an interesting affair for all involved. Chad welcome the staff which consisted of the nine of them to Camp Forest Green. He informed them all how the camp had been renovated over the past few months by his father's work crew and restored to its excellent condition. The group went on a guided tour of the facility while dinner finished cooking in the oven. Chad showed the group all the cabins, the indoor communal bathrooms (this made everyone happy) the various activity spots and ended with the dock as dinner was almost ready. The majority of the group had already seen the archery range but informed Rocki and Ann they were more than welcome to go check it out after supper time.

"When will the raft be set up?" Sienna asks Chad as they walk back to the main hall.

"That's a good question. Popko, Miranda... I would like that ready to go by tomorrow afternoon. It's supposed to be a beautiful day, I thought we could all go swimming as part of a welcome celebration." Chad informs his employees.

"That sounds like fun." Miranda states. She's about to say something further when Popko blurts out.

"I'll get on that tonight." Popko tells the girls swim coach.

"Are you sure... it might be better if we both do it in the morning." Miranda states.

"No... the raft has a simply pulley system for deploying the raft. It's so easy a child could do it... but we won't let them." Chad states.

"It may still be a bit complicated for him." Rocki throws out her comment at Popko. She doesn't mean it, she's just messing with him, and Popko lets it slide.

"Hey, swing by the range after dinner and I'll finally show you the cases." Jackson tells his friend.

"Right the cases... sure thing." Popko says.

"Ethan, you're welcome to join us." Jackson states.

"That's ok. I'm tired from the bus ride. I'm going to shower right away then hit the sack." Ethan informs his friends.

"Mind if I cut in here boys?" Rocki asks the two as they walk towards the hall.

"No... not at all." Popko states and runs ahead to talk to Miranda about the raft.

Despite being out of earshot, the seven counselors stop their conversations to watch the interaction between the archery instructor and the games coach that is about to occur. It should give them an idea of what they are in for this summer.

"Penny for your thoughts." Rocki says to Jackson.

"I thought we said everything that needed saying earlier in the week." Jackson reminds Rocki. He can clearly see she has a necklace on and an outline of something resting just above the valley of her breasts. His finger taps whatever the object is it is purposely hidden from view by her shirt.

"We did, I just wanted to make sure that we are still on the same page. I know we're not dating any longer..." Rocki says putting her hand over the spot Jackson was poking. "but we should still be able to be civil around everyone... right?" Rocki asks with pleading eyes.

"You are the one that chose to end things Rocki, not me." Jackson reminds her.

"And one day... maybe I'll be the one to fix them." Rocki tells Jackson.

"You don't play fair... fine we can be civil around one another right?" Jackson asks in a neutral tone. Rocki smiles in victory and Jackson allows her to leave first. He then makes his way back to his cabin to go prepare for Popko.

Jackson and Popko had gotten together and Jackson showed his friend he recent purchase, a large black Recurve Bow. He stated it was a professional grade and as he opened the second case he unveiled his quiver full of real arrows. The range cabin was also the armory, for lack of a better term, and all of the bows and arrows for the camp were stored here. Jackson's arrows were not the arrows the kids would be using, no these were polymer arrows with sharpened metal arrow heads. The two went to the range where Jackson had set up a target on a tree.

"These arrows will cut through the kids targets like a hot knife through butter." Jackson explained. Popko watched as his friend took up a stance and then proceeded to fire off four arrows in quick succession. Each arrow hit center mass with the final hitting the painted heart of the crude illustration of a person.

Jackson gave Popko a go and Popko impressed Jackson by hitting what would be fatal shots to a person with the final one landing about neck level on the target.

"Someone's been practicing." Jackson stated impressed at his friends accuracy.

"My sentiments exactly." Popko stated. The two friends fired off arrows for about a half an hour before Jackson's watch beeped. He decided it was time to pack up for the night and was going to shower and start getting ready for bed.

Looking at his watch Popko agreed it was time to call it a night. The primary reason Popko had volunteered to set the raft up tonight was that he had plans to be the first to use it. After their meal and offering to help her clean up the dishes Popko had invited Ann to join him for a late night swim after he had set up the raft. He could see the uncertainty in her eyes and he promised no funny business, just two friend (for now) full swimsuits to try out the raft. Popko was elated when Ann accepted and agreed to meet him for a late night swim at 10:00 PM.

Popko was currently doing his best to score brownie points with the three lovely ladies at Camp Forest Green. To be fair, all five of the female counselors were quite lovely despite the fact that one was an ex an another was off limits due to her being his best friends ex-girlfriend. Ann was, in his opinion the prettiest of the trio and the one that seemed to have warmed up to him the most (hence her being the prettiest). Nurse Tori had the whole sexy nurse thing down and seemed to find his charms mildly amusing so that put her in second place in Popko's. That left Miranda, the beautiful Latina swim coach who seemed very kind and friendly. As the other swim coach that meant he got to spend quite a bit of time with her by default.

Popko was currently jazzed up on energy drinks and listening to music through his wireless headphones. Popko was using his excess energy to set up the swimming raft. Some absolute genius had developed a pulley system that allowed one person to easily position the raft a good ten feet from the dock so Popko was currently doing just that. Hand over hand, he pulled the rope so the raft moved away from the dock until it was positioned a good distance away from the dock for people to swim out to. Popko had promised Miranda that he would have the raft in place before the morning so that the group could use it for welcome celebration tomorrow afternoon. With the raft currently tied to the dock until it was anchored down tomorrow Popko stood waiting for his date to arrive. The camp was really serene at this time of night. Popko looked at his watch to see that it was 9:46 pm, fourteen more minutes until he was supposed to meet Ann.

Popko was so engrossed with the music being piped into his ears that he never noticed a figure in black slowly making their way to the dock. The figure moves trying to make as little noise as possible, aided by the fact that Popko's music was so loud that the figure could clearly hear it. The figure raised a canoe paddle up into the air and just as Popko's song ended he heard the air being disturbed by a canoe paddle. The large flat blade smashed into the back of Popko's skull before the young man could react and sent him crashing into the dock. The dazed swim coach was seeing black as something was wrapped around his feet, then his hands, and finally his neck. Popko's vision slowly returned just in time to see his attacker right before they shoved him into the water.

The lake water filled Popko's nose and mouth before sound could exit, and with his skull fractured and his limbs bound, the recently graduated teen slowly found himself pulled towards the raft. The line attached to his neck was actually the anchor line and Popko began to panic even more because when the knot hit the raft the anchor would drop and he would be stuck. Popko tried to struggle but his wrists and feet were bound with zip ties and as he had still been groggy before he hit the water he had not had time to take a proper breath. Popko hoped that Ann would be early and that she had seen his attack and was calling for help... That was his last thought as his air supply ran out and the last few bubbles of air left his body as it sank towards the bottom of the lake.

"Popko?" Ann Phillips called out as she stood on the dock just after 10:00pm. The young blonde haired girl plopped down at the end of the dock and let her bare feet dangle in the water. She had a canary yellow bikini on under a sleeveless t-shirt and cutoff jean shorts. She looked at her watch and sat waiting for her date to arrive. Ann sat patiently listening to the sounds of nature as the minutes ticked on. The wind was beginning to blow but the night is was not so cold that she wouldn't go for a swim if her date showed up soon. She eventually figured that Popko was somewhere under the water waiting for the perfect moment to pop out and scare her. She continued to sit patiently on the dock for fifteen minutes before she pulled her feet from the water, collected her shoes, socks and towel and walked off in a huff from the dock. Ann figured she had been stood up, maybe for one of the other girls and stormed off for the cabin she shared with Rocki. As she did so Popko's lifeless body sat anchored to the bottom of Lake Forest Green as it had been for over thirty minutes.

To Be Continued


	2. Chapter 2

AN: First person Italics is the killers perspective.

It was 8:00 AM and the morning bugle call for reveille sounded off through the camps sound system breaking the silence of the morning. As the bugle continued to blare through the camp Rocki Mahan pulled her pillow from under her head placed it on top to muffle the sound as the bugle call continued for the next minute.

"Morning." Ann said as she stretched out in her bed. Rocki had taken the bed on the right side of the room. There were no windows on the back side of the cabin which faced east so the while light came in from the west facing windows it was not nearly as bright in the cabin as it could be. Rocki sat up and noted that her roommate was particularly perky for someone that didn't get in until almost 10:30 PM last night.

Rocki had just returned from the shower room before Ann left to go meet Popko. Rocki put her dirty laundry in a laundry bag while Ann finished her preparations for her date. Rocki laid down, put her headphones on and listened to her favorite playlist as sleep was slowly overtaking her. Rocki was dozing off when Ann Phillips returned to their cabin in a huff. When her roommate returned in about half an hour completely dry. She gathered Popko must have messed up some how but not wanting to pry into her personal affairs Rocki just rolled onto her side and went to sleep.

"Morning. How was your date last night?" Rocki replied making small talk.

"What date... Popko stood me up." Ann states as she stands up and quickly makes her bed. Once the sheets and blanket are all tucked in and pillow fluffed and replaced at the head of her bed Ann pulls her night shirt up over her head and tosses it on the bed. She squats down and pulls her shirt, shorts and socks out for the day and proceeds to the dress.

"I'm going to forewarn you, I have to get up an hour and a half earlier than the rest of the camp as I have to cook for all of the kids and staff. So, sorry in advance if my alarm disturbs your sleep." Ann politely informs Rocki.

"Thanks for the warning." Rocki says as she stands and stretches.

As it was fairly nice last night Rocki had only slept in an over-sized t-shirt that once belonged to Jackson. Despite their separation she had kept it and wore it at night to bed. Jackson had given it to her after one of their trips to the Beach. It had started to rain and her top was soaked while his shirt had been left in the car. Jackson told her to put it on to help warm her up until the heat in the car could make her comfortable. Rocki had never told him how much she loved this shirt. It was very comfortable, light but most of all it made her feel like he was always wrapped around her when she wore it.

Rocki collected the clothes she was going to wear for the day and upon discarding her night shirt slipped into her panties and then put her bra on before finishing with her everyday clothes. She and Ann then left to join everyone in the dining hall for breakfast. As it was a casual day and the employees were not required to have arrive until the afternoon breakfast was a simple meal of instant oatmeal, toast and juice.

"Hey..." Jackson says as he looks about the hall, "Where's Popko?"

"I thought he was already here. His bed was already made when I got up this morning." Ethan tells everyone.

"I didn't see his truck when I went to take a shower before reveille." Miranda informs the group.

"Ann... do you know where Popko went?" Sienna asks the cook as she sits down with her food.

"No. He was supposed to meet me at 10 PM last night at the dock but he never showed. I waited for fifteen minutes before I went back to my cabin. The raft was in place by then so I don't know what to tell you." Ann informs everyone.

"Great... Ethan, I don't suppose I can ask you to cover for Popko until he returns or until my dad can get a replacement swim coach up here. I'll call him this afternoon and let him know that we have an MIA employee." Chad requests.

"No problem." Ethan says.

Rocki notes that Jackson is silent. He was the first to notice Popko was missing but has simply just let his disappearance go at that. She found his attitude very peculiar. After breakfast was finished the group cleaned up their plastic dishes and utensils. As there were so few of them it was a very quick cleanup. The female counselors all gathered in the main hall to begin going over everything that the group was supposed to cover that afternoon while Ethan, Jackson and Chad went outside to cover their procedures. After their training session Ethan and Jackson helped Chad move the grill from the back patio over to the dock and once in position loaded it up with charcoal and stated the fire. By the time they were done with orientation it would be 11:00 AM and the now evening long festivities could begin.

Time did seem to drag on during the last half an hour but finally all of the rules and safety procedures were covered. Ethan, Jackson and Rocki had all gone with Chad to learn how to operate the gas generator if they should ever need to use it to restore power to the camp should the lines from town go down. After that Chad dismissed everyone to go get into their party uniforms. The guys seemed to change the quickest as all three young men were dressed and down by the grill when Sienna and the other four young ladies joined them.

It was like watching their own personal swimsuit fashion show. Sienna was wearing what looked like white (she informs all that it is actually smoke) colored two piece string bikini. Ann had opted for a red two piece suit with a white sarong wrapped around her waist. Miranda as the swimming coach had almost all swimwear for clothes. Most are tasteful one piece swimsuits that are appropriate for her to wear around younger kids. For days like this when she is only around adults she has a blue two piece bikini. Tori was the most daring so far with a zebra print crop bikini top and high cut bikini bottoms. Rocki brought up the rear but was not to be outdone. She wore a black bikini that had strings tied at each side of her womanly hips and the string top had triangle cups which held her modest bust were connected by a black string in the middle of the suit.

"Who's cooking and who's swimming." Sienna wanted to know. Almost everyone immediately turned to face Ann who knew this was coming.

"I'll start cooking Ann." Jackson volunteered. Ann actually was greatly touched by Jackson's gesture and related this to him. "I know they all assumed you would do it just because you're the cook. But you deserve your fun in the sun as well." Jackson stated to the pretty blonde.

"I'll go swim for a bit and then give you a turn before everything is cooked... that way you won't be here until after lunch." Ann says. Jackson nods and thanks her but quickly noted that everyone else was still standing around the grill.

"If you guys want to cook..." But no sooner had Jackson stated that then Ethan and Chad ran for the dock. The two guys managed to pull their shirts over their heads and discarded their shirts before the dove off the deck into the water. Sienna was running down the dock (heaven forbid she cook) right behind the two guys and was hitting the water on the opposite side of the deck to Chad and Ethan. Tori and Miranda were trying to decide if this was really fair to Jackson but the tall Caucasian young man insisted that he would get his time in the water.

Jackson proceeded to open up the cooler full of refrigerated meat and cooler full of veggies for the grill. Cracking open the pre-made hamburger patties and laying some foil down on the grill he tosses the burgers on and the group watch and listen as the meat sizzles. Jackson found chicken breasts and hot dogs as well and began opening their packaging and getting them over the nice white hot coals.

Ann and Rocki casually make their way down to the dock with Ann looking back every few steps at the cute young man behind them. Rocki purposely ignores this and placing her towel down on the dock atop her shoes and jumps into the water. Ann likewise places her belongings next to Rocki's including her sarong and dives into the water. Rocki makes her way immediately to the raft and climbs out of the water and lays on her stomach atop the raft. She has put on a pair of dark sunglasses, that she kept in her hand, so no one can see that she is staring daggers at her blonde roommate who was currently floating in the water to Rocki's left. With her bright red bathing suit she is easily visible in the super clear water.

Even Rocki had to admit to herself that the young woman is very cute, and unlike Sienna has a kind disposition that would attract any guy like bees to honey. Ann was also better endowed in the chest area that she herself. While Rocki's face does not express the rage she is feeling as she knows she must keep it to herself she feels like she's going to explode every time the sickeningly sweet Ann gets within arms reach of Jackson. Sure Rocki was the one that had ended their dating relationship. That didn't make her feel any better that there was obviously someone else that was capable of seeing Jackson Fuller for the young man that he truly was.

"It's not easy seeing that is it?" Ethan says making his presence known to his old friend. Ethan lays face up on the planks of the wooden raft besides Rocki.

"I don't know what you mean." Rocki says turning her head to the right away from Ethan's incriminating questions.

"You can fool everyone else but me... and Jackson. Rocki, I've known you too long not to recognizes your non-verbal moods." Ethan reminds the raven haired girl who is doing her best to ignore his presence.

"Did you say something?" Rocki asks pretending to have tuned him out.

"Pretend all you want Rocki, she's very nice, and very pretty girl. If you aren't careful she might worm her way into Jackson's heart. After all, she has eight weeks to do it." Ethan reminds his friend.

Rocki grins a knowing smile. "Just because I'm not be dating Jackson right now doesn't mean I've given up on him quite yet." Rocki informs the former post-mates delivery guy.

"Are you sure that a pretty girl like Ann won't be competition for you?" Ethan asks.

"Let's just say I like my odds and leave it at that." Rocki says ending the conversation and hides her head in her folded arms.

"Ok Jackson, we'll take over now, you go have some fun with your lady friend." Miranda Costas says as she walks up to the archery instructor. Her roommate Tori is besides her and is pulling a t-shirt on.

"Are you sure?" Jackson asks Miranda and Tori.

"Go on." Tori says as she hands Miranda a shirt of her own while she begins turning the food.

Never one to look a gift horse in the mouth Jackson Fuller takes his leave of his duties and makes his way over to the dock where he discards his shirt and cannonballs into the water between the dock and the raft. Ethan, and Chad are currently in the water having just dived off the dock into the water. Jackson floated in the water enjoying the feel of the cool (but not cold) water on his body. He had gotten quite warm being in front of the grill for the duration of the cooking time. This felt amazing. Jackson thought to himself. Eventually he did his impersonation of Jaws and circled around the raft for some time. Sienna, Ann and Rocki were currently lying face up on the raft and were tanning. Jackson couldn't remember a time that Rocki had actually been exposed for the sun for such a long time. He had seen her in the water twice, once swimming to the raft and once about thirty minutes ago. She had not been in the water very long before she once again climbed out of the water and laid out on the raft's deck.

Jackson knew that she had purposely made sure he was looking in her direction when she climbed up the ladder and out of the water. Despite the distance Jackson could clearly see her figure. Her long black hair was untied and pulled away as she had climbed out of the water. It was matted against her back and stayed that way for quite some time as she drip dried under the sun. Rocki was playing dirty and Jackson knew it.

Swimming over to the raft Jackson pulled himself up until he was staring at the three lovely ladies. He turned his head to be polite as his current view would have him staring down the valley of the three girls swimming suits. Clearing his throat, the three girls who knew that someone propped up against the raft as it was listing in that direction, turned on to their stomachs and saw Jackson Fuller not being ungentlemanly as he waited for them to let them know it was all right to look.

"Yes Jackson?" Rocki Mahan says in a questioning tone.

"The food should be ready." Jackson informed the trio. "If you'd rather stay on the deck past that let me know and I'll have Tori and Miranda put your food on the side that isn't lit so it stays warm but won't get over cooked." Jackson tells the trio.

"Thank you very much. I can't speak for Sienna but I am starving for real food." Rocki announces.

"I can eat." Ann states smiling at Jackson. She had in fact been spared cooking duties by Miranda and Tori who thought she deserved a break.

"I guess I will join the group." Sienna replies. The three ladies push themselves up off the deck and with grace each dives off the raft on one of the three sides, Sienna to Jackson's left, Ann to his right, and Rocki right over his head.

Chad and Ethan are the first to the dock and pull themselves up rather than taking the ladder built into the dock. Sienna opts for the ladder and the three people still in the water notice that she takes several slow steps, probably hoping to entice Jackson and annoy Rocki at the same time. Jackson has swam over to the opposite side of the dock and pulled himself from the water in the time it took Sienna to exit the water. Rocki is right behind her and is suddenly annoyed when her roommate holds out her arms to Jackson who helps pull her up from the water. Every collects their towels and shirts and head for the picnic table. As they make there way down the dock Sienna leans over to Rocki and whispers, "Somebody has some competition for Full Lips Fuller's attention."

"Bite me Barbie." Rocki mutters as she storms away from the blonde assistant manager.

After lunch was over Jackson put a new bag of coals on the grill as Chad had insisted on having dinner outside as well. While the new coals warmed up the eight counselors broke up into teams of two for volleyball. They decided to modify the rules and the first pair to 10 points was deemed the winner and got to pick the next set of challengers. Chad and Sienna were the first team up and they faced off against Tori and Miranda. The two teams played well but the managers won the first round. Ethan and Rocki were up next with Ethan's size and Rocki's skill being the deciding factor and the new challengers won game two. This left Ann and Jackson who played very well as a team taking advantage of the fact that Rocki was a bit distracted during this round. However Rocki and Ethan managed to work past this and defeated the final team.

The groups kept the same teams and played two more rounds before everyone was exhausted. Ethan and Rocki swept round two with Miranda and Tori winning the most matches in the third and final round. Jackson and Ann didn't do great but they did have fun which was all that was important to them. Rocki really didn't like the amount of affection that Ann displayed for Jackson when they did well or when they did bad. It just seemed like the blonde was always hugging or touching Jackson. Ethan took a turn on the grill to cook the food for dinner, a duty that he split with Rocki. Rocki decided to take a turn because if she was watching the food then she wouldn't have to see Ann flirting with Jackson.

"You're losing the battle before it even begins." Ethan informs Rocki as he brings her a large pot full of ears of corn soaked in sugar water.

Rocki turns her gaze to see Jackson tossing a giggling Ann into the lake. The young blonde pops up from under the water, playfully spitting out some water in Jackson's direction and the two laugh before Jackson jumps in and joins her in the water. "We're separated... how would it look if I acted like the jealous witch of an ex-girlfriend being all cold and cruel to the nice girl?" Rocki asks Ethan.

Ethan thinks about Rocki's statement for a moment before he smiles and says, "You would be Sienna."

"Exactly!" Rocki says as she uses the long metal tongs in her right hand to begin putting the ears of corn on the grill.

"Ok, I'll let up but just make sure you don't tread too carefully... that girl seems to be moving in real quick on Jackson." Ethan says pointing out the obvious.

"Hey Rocki... I can take over for you if you'd like. Go give Miss Goody Two-Shoes a little run for her money." Tori says to the raven haired girl. Tori is once again wearing a t-shirt so she is ready to grill.

"Are you sure?" Rocki asks. She then notes that Tori is nudging her head to the side in the direction of Ethan who has his back to the pair as he separates recyclables and breaks down garbage into sorted piles for proper disposal. "You know... I think I will take you up on your offer." Rocki says. She thanks Tori (particularly from distracting Ethan) and makes her way to the water to join the others and disrupt the Jackson/Ann festivities.

It was just about 8:00 PM and the sun was starting to set over the horizon. The eight remaining counselors were huddled around the firepit down near the waterfront. Everyone was full and all the left over food had been put away for tomorrow to have as leftovers. Jackson sat with his back to the moon. On his left was Rocki, on his right Ann Phillips. The roommates appeared to be cordial but looks were known to be deceiving. To Ann's right was Sienna and Chad. This left Tori, Ethan and Miranda. Things were starting to wind down when Rocki looked over to the camp manager.

"So Chad... what's the real story behind why this camp has been closed for so long?" Rocki asks.

"I'm sure I don't know what you mean." Chad Brad Bradley replies. He picks up a stick and tosses it into the fire. The stick crackles as the flames ignite the kindling.

"Something about a few deaths occurring here?" Rocki tosses out.

"Deaths?" Sienna says looking at the manager.

"Just rumors." Chad says trying to kill the topic before it can continue.

"I didn't think the local newspaper prints out rumors." Rocki says pulling out a printout. The paper is from a newspaper article from the county press dated from May 1996. The article quickly circulates around the group save for Jackson who just hands it back to Rocki. Everyone looks at Chad, even Sienna.

"Sooo, my dad bought this used camp, dirt cheap because apparently there was a murder here back in 1996. Many of the details were swept under the rug but I do know that an employee went nuts and killed five of her fellow employees. I don't know why or how, but the person was caught and sent away." Chad tells the group.

"No wonder the towns folk don't care for outsiders." Jackson says to the agreement of several of the other campers.

"That was over twenty years ago. The area that that happened in was demolished and they built the toolshed where it took place. All of the cabins were completely gutted and refurbished to like new condition. For all intents and purposes, this is an all new camp." Chad adamantly states.

Content with his answer Rocki lets the subject die. It was just a short time later that dark clouds all of the sudden rolled in and the ominous sound of thunder could be heard in the distance. Jackson and Ethan each took a handle on the grill and carried it over towards the back of the main hall to the covered patio located at the kitchen entrance. Ethan locked the grill down, just in case there were high winds as this storm seemed to come from out of nowhere.

"Well... so much for taking that walk." Tori says as she come to check on Ethan.

"Yeah, that was bad luck. Fortunately we still have eight more weeks of hopefully better weather for walks." Ethan replied trying to look on the bright side of things.

"I'm going to go grab a shower and then I'll meet you in the main hall hopefully before it poor." Tori says.

"That sounds like a plan. After I get cleaned up I will see you in the main hall." Ethan states.

When Tori arrives with her towel and change of clothes she finds the other three female counselors already in shower stalls shampooing their hair. Tori turns on the shower faucet for her stall and quickly disrobes, climbs into her stall and pulls the curtain shut. She begins to shampoos then conditions her hair. As she is rinsing out the lather Tori hears the rumbling of thunder once again, only this time it is much closer. Miranda is the first to finish and shuts her water off. Ann is next to finish showering and the pair dry off and change into their new clothes.

"Tori, are you coming back to the room for the night or are you going to the main hall?" Miranda asks her roommate.

"I'm just going to drop my things off and then head to the main hall." Tori informs her roommate.

"Ok then, I'll see you back at the room. Ladies, I hope you all had as much fun as I did and am looking forward to more times like this." Miranda tells the trio.

"You do realize we're going to be surrounded by kids for four and a half days out of the week. We'll be lucky if have the energy to do one of these every other week." Rocki says have sarcastic, half serious.

"Well, we'll just have to find the energy to do them." Tori says with determination.

"For the record, you all can grill anytime you like. It was a nice break and everyone did an excellent job." Ann says praising the trio present and the two absentee guys.

"You are welcome." Miranda and Tori declare at the same time.

A less enthusiastic Rocki says, "Thanks."

Miranda takes her leave and heads to her cabin. Rocki and Tori return to their showers and hear Ann say her goodbyes and the door shut again signaling that Ann has left. As Rocki and Tori had longer hair it took them considerably longer to finish washing it.

"You really don't like her do you?" Tori asks Rocki as she runs the water through her hair again.

"I don't hate her... I just don't like how touchy feely she is around Jackson." Rocki honestly states to Tori.

"If you still care about Jackson then why did you break up with him" Tori can't help but ask. She can clearly see that Rocki still has feelings for Jackson.

"Honestly, our mothers made us split up. We're going to be in different states after the summer comes to an end and our mothers thinking they knew what's best for us said that we needed to break up. My mother threatened to cut me off if I didn't end the relationship." Explained Rocki

"Wow... that's harsh." Tori states the obvious.

"So, I decided we should stop dating. Jackson had to accept my decision, and here we are." Rocki says.

"Well, if you're meant to be together I hope you find your way back to one another." Tori honestly states.

"Thanks." Rocki says. the raven haired girl finishes first and wrapped her hair in a towel. She dries off and once she was in her robe she said goodbye to Tori.

Rocki was only a few steps from the bathroom when she saw Ann and Jackson on the path to the range cabin. The pair were in close proximity, and Jackson actually had his hands on Ann's arms. She moved behind a large tree so that she was obscured from Jackson's view, Ann had her back to Rocki, as they talked. Rocki could not hear what was being said but whatever was occurring upset Rocki's stomach. Rocki stormed off and deciding she didn't want to be in the cabin when or if Ann showed up. Rocki needed to rush back to the cabin to dress and go sit in the main hall until her stomach settled and she could tolerate her roommate's presence.

The rain that had been threatening to fall finally did so and fortunately for Tori, she had been smart enough to bring her rain coat down to the bathroom with her. Pulling the coat on, Tori fastens the front of the orange rain coat and pulls her hood up over her head. Tori places her belongings in a day pack and begins her trek to her cabin. Five steps from the door the rain began falling hard and fast. Tori adjusts her hood to protect her face better and pushes on towards her cabin. Tori is half way to her door when she hears faint cries. At first she thinks they maybe cat cries due to some stray being out in the storm. She takes another few steps only to hear a more distinct cry for help. It is still faint but clearly coming from an area near the archery range. The instincts to help someone who might be lost or hurt override her common sense to go get help first lead Tori down the path. She finds herself going past the archery ranger and deeper down the path into that part of the woods. The foliage is deep and think but the path she is on, despite the rain, is quite clear. The further down the path she travels the louder the call for help is becoming. Tori picks up the pace and calls out to whoever is calling for help.

"Where are you?" Tori yells. "Can you give me a sign?"

"Here... I'm down here?" The voice calls out.

Tori runs four more steps and as she plants her foot the ground beneath it gives out. The pile of wet leaves was camouflaging a net that covered a pit. Tori only had seconds before she saw the walkies-talkie. In those same seconds she saw the sharp wooden spikes just before her body fell onto them. All one hundred plus pounds of Tori hit the spikes puncturing her neck, lungs, liver, arms and legs.

As Tori bleeds out a figure in black steps to the edge. The dark shadow of a figure sees the would be nurse twitching as the life is draining from her body. Once the figure is sure that Tori is dead they reach to their left side and collect a rope. Pulling on the rope in question a wooden plank covered in leaves slides over the top and completely covers the hole. The wood is sturdy enough that anyone walking over it won't suffer the same fate as Tori... should they make it this far. The dark figure then makes their way around the covered trap and heads towards the camp for the next part of their plan.

"This is very odd." Miranda says aloud as she and Ethan walked through the screen door to the main hall. The door swung back after Ethan let go of it and it banged twice before it finally latched into place. The storm was now over and the clouds seemed to be moving on but Miranda and Ethan had called everyone to the main hall for another reason.

Rocki was the first to arrive after the girls swim coach and lifeguard. The trio stood waiting in the hall for several tense minutes before Rocki decided to head up to the second floor area. The second floor consisted of five rooms that ran along the back area above the kitchen and dining area. Two bedrooms for the manager and assistant manager with a private bathroom that the pair shared between them. The sound room that housed the PA system for the entire campground was on the left and to the far right was the office. The top floor also had a storage closet located to the far left side of the second floor hall.

Rocki knocked on Sienna's door but got no answer. Trying the door handle she opened it and found the room dark and empty. Closing the door behind her, Rocki went to Chad's door and jiggled the knob and found it locked. Putting her ear to the door she heard a very particular noise coming from the other side of the door. Rocki backed away and shuddered as she didn't want the visual of the two of them together in her head. Pounding on the door, Rocki yells for the pair to get dressed and get down stairs immediately as there was an emergency. Rocki makes her way down the stairs and rejoins Ethan and Miranda. Ten minutes after Rocki pounded on the door to Chad's room Sienna and Chad exit look a little disheveled. As they descend the stairs Sienna gives Rocki a dirty look as she zips up Chad's hoodie.

"Oh grow up." Rocki says as Sienna looks at her with annoyance. "We wouldn't have pounded on Chad's door if we didn't have a reason."

"Tori is missing. She never came back to the cabin after she took her shower. We checked the bathroom and its almost dry so she's been done for some time." Miranda informed the managers.

"When the storm hit I could have sworn I heard someone calling for help." Ethan said as the other counselors walked through the door.

"First Popko leaves in the middle of the night. Now Tori goes missing during the storm." Miranda declares.

"Hey... has anyone seen Jackson or Ann in the last few minutes?" Rocki asks as she takes a look around the hall.

Ethan walks to the back and looks in the kitchen to see if she might be there getting things ready for tomorrow morning. With the exception of Fielding, Fuller and Phillips everyone else was present and accounted for.

"Jackson was on his way back to the range cabin before the storm." Ethan informs the group. He hesitates a moment before adding, "He was talking with Ann just before the storm rolled in."

"I haven't seen Ann since right before Tori disappeared. They may be... together." Miranda says. Miranda knew from Rocki's expression that she didn't want to hear those words but at the same time Rocki knew that everyone was already thinking it.

"Maybe he's sheltering her from the storm. He does have that wood burning stove in there to help warm up his cabin." Sienna chimed in.

Rocki was about to retort something fierce when the group are suddenly alerted to a loud noise. It starts out as just a crackling sound over the loud speakers. Seconds go by and the group listens for someone to speak. Rocki is hoping its Jackson, Tori or even Ann and they are just playing a very elaborate practical joke on the counselors. As the group listens thy all hear the eerie sound of Chopin's Funeral March come over the loud system. As the haunting notes play Sienna Logans expression changes from annoyance to fear and she grabs hold of Chad's right arm. Miranda and Ethan take position back to back behind the managers. Rocki is standing at the front of the quartet and is staring at the door to the sound room. She does not show signs of distress but she is worried, very worried. She can feel her pulse racing and her heart pounding as the ominous piano music blares through the loud speakers. No one is feeling particularly brave enough to head up to the sound room to investigate the origin of who might have turn on the system and played the song. Rocki's main concern right now is for Jackson's whereabouts and his well being.

Nine minutes later as the music ends a new sound is heard. The door to the sound room opens and the sounds of heavy foot steps follow. Everyone sees a dark figure in the doorway. The sounds of Ann pleading for her life come over the PA. The group hear Ann's terrified screams as her body is flung over the second floor railing. The group can hear the sound of ropes moving as Ann has a microphone attached to her. Once the ropes go taunt the noose around Ann's neck suddenly stop the girl's descent. The group watches as Ann Phillips body stops abruptly several feet from them and the audible snap of her neck ends her life. Sienna and Miranda scream at the scene and promptly run from the hall followed closely by Chad.

Rocki and Ethan stare at her body then up towards the sound room. The dark silhouette of the killer has disappeared and as she look at Ann Phillip's lifeless body Rocki wonders if a similar fate has already befallen Popko, Tori... and Jackson.

To Be Continued


	3. Chapter 3

AN: First person Italics is the killers perspective.

Cruel Summer: Chapter 03

Rocki moves closer to the dead form of Ann Phillips hanging just out of arms reach. Rocki slowly reaches out towards Ann only for Ethan to grab her wrist just before her hand touched Ann.

"Don't... you don't want your prints anywhere on her body." Ethan explains his reasoning for not letting her touch Ann. "Come on, we have to go find everyone else. There is safety in numbers after all." Ethan states.

"Yeah... unless the killer has a machine gun." Rocki says as she slowly backs away from Ann and moves towards the front door.

Ethan checks behind them to make sure whoever killed Ann didn't magically show up behind them with an axe, machete, chainsaw, or even a machine gun. Seeing it was clear Rocki opens the door and Ethan takes a quick peak out to make sure no one is around the corners before they exit the main hall.

"We should go to the range cabin. We have to see if Jackson is there." Rocki insists. Ethan nods his head in agreement.

Rocki and Ethan darted down the wet path as quickly as they could. The ground was a bit slick so they had to watch their step as they made their way to the range. They slowly walk up to the front door of the cabin. Ethan has Rocki stand by the left side of the door, ready to turn the knob and push the door open. From the right side of the door Ethan can see the majority of the room and he has his cellphone out and ready to flash the room with a flashlight. When he looked under the door however the light for Jackson's cabin was on. Ethan signals Rocki to open the door as planned on the count of three.

Holding up his hand, Ethan signals;

One...

Two...

THREE...

Rocki turns the knob and pushes the door open and ducks back behind the wall. Ethan rushes in and is tackled to the ground... by Chad Brad Bradley.

"CHAD!" Rocki yells.

Chad stops as he realizes that he is wrestling Ethan. "Sorry, my bad." Chad states.

"Looks like we had the same idea." Ethan says as Chad helps him to his feet.

"Jackson wasn't here when we got here." Sienna tells Ethan and Rocki as Miranda closes the door to the range cabin.

"Do you know if his black cases are here?" Ethan asks the trio.

"No idea... why?" Chad and Sienna ask.

"Jackson has his personal bow and arrows in those cases, or so Popko told me before he disappeared." Ethan informs the room as he begins looking about for the cases. Rocki starts looking in possible places for the large cases.

"There are bows and arrows behind those doors." Chad states pointing at the armory doors.

"Those are the kids arrows, they wouldn't hurt a kitten. Jackson has real arrows, the kind that are capable of killing someone." Ethan states as he continues searching for those cases.

"Why would he have arrows capable of killing someone?" Sienna asks Ethan.

"I suppose to demonstrate to the kids but I'll tell you what, if we find Jackson you can ask him. I don't know where he put them." Ethan says having given up. Chad had unlocked the armory with his spare key and the cases were not their either.

"What if... what if they're missing because he has them on his person." Miranda voices. She knows the other four people here are all acquaintances of Jackson and as such probably haven't considered the option she was about to propose. However she hoped that by voicing it that they would at least consider her opinion.

"What do you mean Miranda?" Rocki asks.

From what she knew of Rocki she half expected this tone. Despite the word from Sienna that Rocki and Jackson had recently broken up Miranda noted that Rocki was very guarded about Jackson. She watched as the raven haired girl glared at Ann during her intimate moments with Jackson. It was obvious the blonde girl fancied Jackson Fuller but what was less obvious was if Jackson reciprocated these feelings. A small part of her thinks that if Rocki hadn't been standing besides her when Ann's body was thrown from the second floor that Rocki would be her chief suspect.

"We don't know for sure what happened to Popko or Tori. We do know that Ann is dead. Of the nine of us that were here yesterday at dinner the only other person currently missing... is Jackson Fuller." Miranda voiced.

Everyone listened intently to Miranda's theory, even Rocki who obviously didn't like what she was hearing.

"I'm not accusing him mind you, but lets look at the facts as they stand... Jackson was the first to notice that Popko wasn't here this morning who knows if he did or didn't know prior to breakfast." Miranda explained.

"Wait... Why don't we go over the events as they happened to try and figure this out before we even imply blame." Chad states.

"Ok... Popko came back from his archery session with Jackson, he grabbed his things to take a shower before his date. He came back, took a 90 minute nap before he changed into his swim trunks and a sleeveless t-shirt and headed out for the dock. That was just before 9:30 PM." Ethan informs the group.

"According to Ann the raft was in place when she showed up at 10 PM. So Popko was there but then disappeared." Chad chimed in.

The room went silent as Miranda noted despite the fact that apparently the quartet all wanted to say something at this point they all appeared to be biting their tongues... probably on the off chance they were wrong.

"Who was the last person to see Tori?" Miranda asks the group.

The group think back to before the storm. Sienna and Chad stated that the last time that they saw her was when they left the party to go to Chad's room. Ethan's answer was after she helped him lock down the grill before the storm. Miranda and Rocki's answer were the same, when the four female counselors were in the showers. Rocki however was the very last to sees her as she left the bathroom after Ann and Miranda.

"So sometime from the moment Rocki left her and presumably when those cries for help occurred something happened to Tori." Miranda states.

"Yes... but that possibly gives Jackson a partial alibi as he was talking with Ann during that time." Rocki points out.

"I agree." Ethan adds.

"Since you two brought her up, let's get to what we know about what happened to Ann. Ethan, you said you saw Jackson with Ann before the storm... correct?" Miranda asked.

"Yes." Ethan reluctantly had to agree.

"Rocki... Ann is your roommate. When was the last time you saw her?" Miranda enquirers.

Rocki was annoyed. Not because she was going to have to answer truthfully, but where the line of questioning was leading. Because as much as she didn't want to admit it, things were not looking good for Jackson, no matter how she felt about him. "She was talking with Jackson when I left the bathroom. It was before it started storming... so it must have been just before Ethan saw them together."

"Did she come back to your cabin before the storm?" Miranda asks Rocki.

The raven haired girl sighs in defeat, "No... she didn't."

"So... we have to assume Jackson was the last person to see Ann alive. I'm not saying he was,.. but it looks that way." Miranda states for the record.

"Ann was still wearing the same clothes I saw her in when... when whoever dropped her over the railing killed her." Ethan states for the record.

"So chances are that either she went from the path here where she met her untimely fate or... somebody killed her in the woods and carried her up the second floor stairs in front of Ethan who was waiting for Tori to meet him there." Miranda states.

"Actually that does bring up a good question... how did the killer get Ann's body up to the second floor without anyone seeing them. Even if... and I'm not saying he did it... but even if Jackson killed her, he would have had to get from the path all the way to the second floor... carrying a body." Chad says trying to work out possible scenarios.

"You're missing the obvious answer..." Sienna of all people announces.

"Which is?" Rocki sarcastically asks.

"She wasn't dead before the storm. The two of them could have snuck up here... maybe for a little private time in the second floor bathroom. The two of them together could easily made there way from the path, quietly entered the building, then snuck up to the second floor. Ethan did you go straight to the main hall or did you stop at your cabin first?" Sienna asks.

"I... I took a quick shower, went back to my cabin to change and then I went to the main hall and arrived just as the rain began to fall." Ethan answered honestly.

"Miranda, when did you encounter Ethan?" Sienna asks the female swim coach.

"After the heavy rain had fallen. I was coming to ask Tori what time she was planning to call it a night. That's when Ethan told me she still wasn't here. We heard the faint call for help and then it just stopped." Miranda answered.

Miranda was about to continue her statement when the lights flickered and then everything went dark. Everyone waited to see if it was just a brown out or if the power was actually down. After two solid minutes of darkness they all agreed that the power was officially out.

"Ok Chad... what's the plan?" Ethan asks.

"Why are you asking me?" Questions Chad.

"Because you're the manager and its your campground." Ethan explains.

Chad Brad Bradley knew this moment was coming, but he wasn't 100% sure that his people would go for it. "Ok, lets leave conjecture at the door for the moment. We have two real options to consider. Option One... someone needs to go start the emergency generator, after which we make a run for my room and collect the satellite phone that I have and call for help. Option Two... we make a break for the two cars and drive out of here."

"I vote for the cars." Sienna Logan immediately states.

"I'll second that." Chad says.

The managers then look at their three employees. "I say we turn the generator on and try and find Jackson before we just leave him to die." Rocki votes.

"I vote for the generator." Ethan seconds.

Miranda contemplates her answer very carefully, weighing the pros and the cons of the situation they are currently in. "I say we turn the power back on and stay." Miranda reluctantly votes.

"Ok, then why don't you three go turn the generator on and grab my satellite phone." Chad says tossing Rocki the camp keys. The phone is in my double desk drawer, the gold key."

"Shouldn't we all stay together?" Miranda asks.

"If we're staying at the camp I'm not leaving this cabin unless I absolutely have to." Chad tells his employees.

"I'm with Chad. This seems to be the safest place at the camp right now." Sienna voices her opinion.

"I'll go turn the power on." Rocki says annoyed with the two. She knows the situation is scary but if they're staying they need power.

"I'll go with you." Miranda volunteers.

"You guys aren't going anywhere without me." Ethan states. The trio turn back to Chad and Sienna. Sienna simply walks over to Jackson's bed and sits down. Chad simply crosses his arms and stays put.

Rocki walked over to the dresser and pulled the top drawer open. She rifled through Jackson's shirts and sighed in relief that something seemed to be going their way.

"What do you have there?" Sienna asks looking at the black handle in Rocki's hand. Rocki presses the button on the item and a four inch blade swings out and clicks into place.

"Geez... why does he have that?" Sienna screams.

"I got it for him for his birthday because we were going to be in the woods for eight weeks. You never know when you're going to need a knife." Rocki says closing the blade. She replaces it in its sheath and clips it to her waist.

"Ok... lets go." Ethan states. Chad moves to the door and opens it so that the trio can check to see if the coast is clear and the trio ran out the door and towards the steps to the main area. As soon as the trio were off the porch section of the cabin Chad shut the door and pushed the dresser against the door sealing he and Sienna in.

Ethan was the first of the three counselors to the main intersection. Miranda and Rocki were only steps behind him but notice that Ethan stopped in his tracks and was contemplating something.

"Ethan... what's wrong?" Rocki asks her friend.

"Rocki... you and Miranda should go to Chad's room and get the phone. I will go start the generator." Ethan tells the two girls.

"No, we should stick together." Miranda insists.

"I don't want to believe this is Jackson..." Ethan says for the record. "but, if it is and he has his bow... It's just better not to give him an entire group of targets." Ethan stated. "Popko says he was very quick on his reload time and very accurate."

"He's right. We'll go get the phone... you go start the power." Rocki says. "Just make sure you run, whoever this killer is can't effectively use the bow in close quarters so the sooner you're in the shed the safer you are."

"Just make sure you run, it's a large stretch from the ground floor up to Chad's room." Ethan reminds the girls. He takes one last look at his immediate surroundings and makes a dash for the emergency generator shed.

Rocki and Miranda reach the main hall. The screen door is closed but the main door is still open as Rocki and Ethan never shut it when they ran out a while ago. Rocki has her hand on the door and is doing her best to peer around the corners before she opens the screen door. She can clearly see Ann's lifeless body still hanging from the railing. Rocki extends her right hand and reaches for the doorknob... and then jumps as Miranda puts her left hand on Rocki's right shoulder. Rocki wants to scream at Miranda for scaring her half to death.

"Rocki... there's someone in the water." Miranda points towards the dock.

Sure enough as Rocki turns her head, she can see someone lying face down, mostly submerged in the water. "Oh my god, we have to help them." Rocki says.

"No. Right now that satellite phone is our only lifeline to the outside world. You need to go get it. I can use the life preserver ring to get the person to shore in the mean time." Miranda insists.

"This is not a good idea." Rocki insists to her co-worker.

"No... but it's the right thing to do... now go." Miranda insists. She then runs from the front of the main hall down the path to the dock before Rocki can try and convince her otherwise.

Rocki returns her focus to the situation before her and slowly pulls the screen door open. Using her cellphone on camera mode she quickly checks both sides and seeing the coast is clear, races inside the main hall towards the second floor steps. Rocki bounds up the stairs quickly taking two steps at a time as opposed to hitting each individual step. The stairs are creaking due to her pushing of each step she takes with such force. Halfway up the stairs she pulls out the automatic knife and when she is almost to the top of the stairs clicks the button to unlock the blade. The knife swings open with a click and Rocki hits the top of the stairs ready to stab anything or anyone she doesn't recognize.

The second floor hall is empty as Rocki slowly makes her way towards Chad's room. The door is ajar so Rock pulls out her cellphone and turns on the flashlight app. The flash from her camera turns on and Rocki nudges the door open with her foot. Holding her phone sideways in her right hand she fully extends her arm while holding her knife in a reverse grip in her left hand supporting her right hand. Rocki keeps her knife pointed where she and the light are looking, never allowing herself to get distracted. If anyone or anything she doesn't know pops out at her it/they will be very sorry.

"Any time now Ethan." Rocki says as she slowly pans the light around the room making sure there is nothing or no one else in the room but her.

Ethan reached the generator shed post haste and after finding the emergency lantern so he had some light to see what he was doing made sure the generator was primed and ready to go. It was an older gas generator but it was well built and the mechanics Chad's father had hired made sure everything was up to code and that it would run. After verifying that it was still fully fueled and ready to go Ethan pulls the starter cable. The generator reeves once but does not start. Ethan pulls the cable again but once again it does not start. The third try is the charm and the generator's motor slowly starts to sputter and then kicks into gear.

Ethan takes a moment to catch his breath when the main lights come on signaling that power has been restored to the campgrounds. As the engine runs Ethan sees something odd now that the lights are on. There is a fine black powder along the back of the generator. Looking around the powder seems to travel all around the room. He follows the trail seeing that it leads directly to the gas cans.

The lights slowly flicker on and Rocki turns off her cellphone and stashes it in her back left pocket. Fishing Chad's keys out of her left front pocket, Rocki makes her way to the desk, puts the knife on the desktop while she fumbles with the ring of keys till she has the gold desk key in her hand and slipping the key into the lock, turns the key clockwise to unlock the double desk drawer.

Rocki finds a black case, smaller than a shoe box and upon opening it discovers the satellite phone. She presses the power button and the phone begins to start up. Unfortunately for Rocki, this satellite phone needs a passcode, something Chad neglected to tell her. "Motherf..."

Miranda ditches her shoes just prior to reaching the dock, runs to the post with the life preserver and unhooks the flotation device. Not stopping, the swim coach leaps up and dives into the water like a torpedo. She quickly surfaces and swims over to the person who's head is still underwater. The person is male, and has what appears to be black hair. "Popko?" Miranda calls out.

The person, now just out of arms reach is still unresponsive. When she finally reaches the person she lifts their left arm through the lifering and then tries pulling the person up while she treads water. Popko's face pops up but as soon as it is Miranda sees that Popko's skin is completely discolored and wrinkly implying he has been in the water a considerable amount of time. She also see's the spot where the back of his head was fractured by something very solid. Miranda panics and swims back towards the dock.

Ethan realizing something is horribly wrong starts to leave but then hears a crackling sound. He thinks the generator must be shorting out and is partially right. From behind the generator something sparks and one of those sparks strikes the trail of black powder. The powder quickly ignites and follows the trail up the generator and all the way along the walls back to the gas cans, That's when Ethan notices that one of the plastic cans has a magnesium flare attached to it. The flare ignites and quickly melts through the plastic of two gas cans. The gas ignites and before Ethan has time to react, the entire generator shed explodes in a fiery spectacle.

Rocki is on the ground floor clutching Jackson's knife in her right hand and the case with the Satellite phone in her left. She is getting ready to go to the dock and help Miranda when the roar of the Generator exploding can be heard and felt from where she is standing. It is only due to the very recent rainfall that the entire area around the generator isn't engulfed in flames.

"ETHAN!" Rocki yells. She has no idea if her friend was still in the shed when it blew up, but given recent events... things did not good for him.

I watch as Miranda swims like a pro, her arms and legs work in tandem as she quickly covers the distance from Popko's body to the ladder of the dock. Her head moves from side to side so she can inhale and exhale with each powerful stroke over the roughly eight feet from where Popko's body lies to the ladder. Miranda gasps as her hands grasp the metal ladder rails and begins pulling herself out of the lake. She climbs two rungs before she looks up and her eyes fall on me. I'm decked out in black boots, black cargo pants, a black military style jacket with the hood covering my head. My face is further obscured by a black balaclava so that even my eyes are hidden and I am wearing black tactical gloves. I have my quiver of arrows strapped to my back, my recurve bow is attached to it but that is not what has the girls swim coach distressed. No, it's the 32 inch fireman's axe that is currently in both of my gloved hands that has her worried.

Nothing is said, I actually expected pleading at this point. She's basically accepted her fate, so I oblige her and in one swift move, as I hear Roxanne Mahan screaming the other girl's name, I bring the axe blade down splitting her head in half. As the blood rushes down Miranda's head I release my grip on the axe handle and her body drops into the lake... blood pooling out of the wound I have just made.

Three left... I think to myself as I see the raven haired woman making a mad dash for the cabin besides the archery range.

To Be Continued

AN: This is the halfway point. The Body Count as it stands...

Mystery Girl – Shot with an arrow in the head

Swim Coach (Boys): Bobby Popko – Head Fractured, Drowned

The Nurse: Tori Fielding – Impaled in a spike trap

The Cook: Ann Phillips – Neck Snapped from a second floor drop

The Lifeguard: Ethan Edwards – Dies in the Generator Explosion

Swim Coach (Girls): Miranda Costas – Axe to the head


	4. Chapter 4

AN: First person Italics is the killers perspective.

~*~

Sienna Logan and Chad Brad Bradley were currently sitting on top of Jackson Fuller's bed once again with only a battery powered lantern illuminating the room. The two sat silently huddled on the twin sized cot. Chad was near the head of the bed with Sienna snuggled into his embrace, her arms wrapped firmly around Chad's waist. The two had been cowering atop Jackson's bed the entire time their employees were off on their, in their opinion, foolish mission to restore power to the camp. The could hear the crickets chirping now that the rain had stopped and the rain drops falling from the tree leaves had slowed down.

As the two had been in the middle of having sexual intercourse just before everything went to hell the pair didn't really have a great deal of time to get dressed properly, particularly with Rocki Mahan pounding on Chad's door screaming bloody murder at them to hurry up. Sienna had put her swimming suit back on as she and Chad had rushed to the manager's bedroom, forgone showering and foreplay and simply started going at one another after the cookout. In their haste, Sienna had managed to grab one of Chad's hooded sweatshirts and her shoes but didn't have time to go to her room for anything else. Chad had grabbed a pair of sweat pants and jumped into them and his shoes before the lovers exited his room and joined the group in the main hall.

After their employees had left to go try and restore power to the campground the pair blocked the door with a dresser and then went about tossing some logs in the wood burning stove to heat up the now cool range cabin. Chad was about to strike a match and light the fire when he suddenly had a notion. "What if the killer doesn't know we're here. The smoke from the wood burning stove will lead them right here." Chad announces.

Sienna, seeing the logic in Chad's reasoning agrees not to start the fire. Instead the pair sat down on the bed, first Chad, then Sienna and snuggled on the bed in the dark and waited to see if someone came pounding on the door. When the lights finally came back on Chad decided to raid Jackson's drawer for a t-shirt, and maybe find a jacket. Opening the large dresser drawer, Chad found a variety of choices. He didn't particularly care what he grabbed, he just picked the first one off the top and pulled it on.

"Here... trade you." Chad says as he tosses Sienna a water repellent jacket. It's loose and warm enough that she willingly takes it and trades Chad his hoodie.

Sienna then strolled over besides her lover and decided to borrow something to wear as well as she was freezing. Chad could tell she was cold from the goosebumps on her arms and the erect nipples poking out of her bathing suit. Sienna reached into the drawer and pulled out a dark blue t-shirt which she pulled over her lean frame. Still feeling quite cold Sienna closed the drawer and moved to the bottom of the dresser where she found Jackson' pants. She sifted through them until she found and removed a pair of his sweat pants. Sienna pulled one leg through at a time and then tied the ties really tight around her waist.

The moment Sienna and Chad put on their outer wear the pair heard a loud explosion and the cabin lights flickered before they once again went dark. Deciding they had to know what happened Chad and Sienna push the dress away from the door, the wood floor screeching as the legs of the dresser dragged across the wooden planks. Chad tentatively began reaching for the doorknob when he and Sienna heard the all too familiar screech yelling at them, "Open the door... OPEN THE FUCKING DOOR!"

Chad Brad Bradley moved to the opposite side and pulled the door wide open. Sienna looked out the glass window besides the door and saw a figure in black standing half way down the path from the main campground to the archery range. The person had a bow in hand and was loading an arrow and clearly had Rocki Mahan in their sights.

"Rocki get down NOW!" Sienna screams at the raven haired girl.

Rocki does not look back. She takes one last step as she reaches the covering of the porch and drops down into a baseball slide. Rocki slides into the cabin just as two arrows fly past her. The arrows strike the opposite wall, the arrow heads embedding themselves in the think wood where Rocki would have been if she had not heeded Sienna's warning with a loud THUNK sound.

Rocki rolls towards Sienna but remains on the ground for now. Once she's clear Chad quickly closes the door and with his adrenaline ramped up he wedges the dresser back in front of the door by himself. While he is doing this Sienna takes a peak out the window and see's the archer has shifted their aim slightly and barely moves her head back in time to avoid an arrow put through the window. The arrow easily breaks the glass and hits the wall several feet behind it without shattering the entire window. Sienna quickly closes the storm shutters and locks them into place.

Rocki sits up and tries to calm down and catch her breath. After everything that has happened in the last five minutes Rocki finds herself on the verge of tears. She keeps reliving the last few moments in her head, she sees the generator shed, that her childhood friend was in, blown to bits. This was immediately followed by the sight of the killer drive an axe into Miranda Costa's skull. The same axe wielding maniac who apparently knew how to use a bow and fired arrows like a professional at her. The killer had actually ran and shot at her with uncanny aim. Several arrows came very close to striking her as she made her way through the woods back to the cabin.

Rocki truly didn't want to believe that Jackson had gone nuts or suffered some kind of psychotic break... Rocki still wanted to believe it is someone else running around killing her co-workers. Looking at the facts as they had been laid out prior to the mission to restore power to the camp, of all the staff the only people still alive that they knew for sure were the three people in this room and maybe Jackson.

While Rocki hadn't seen the body that sent Miranda off on her rescue mission she was quite sure it was Popko as Jackson's hair wasn't that dark. Tori was still M.I.A. (missing in action) but if she hadn't shown up by now she was more than likely was not going to, at least not alive. So with Ann, Ethan and Miranda all accounted for that just left Jackson Fuller. The fact that someone just took pot shorts at her and this cabin with arrows also didn't help the missing Archery Instructor's case much either. Rocki then turns her attention to Chad Brad Bradley as the camp manager moves to retrieve the box she dropped.

"Thanks for telling me the phone was locked." Rocki yells at Chad as the camp manager collects the case for the satellite phone from the ground where Rocki dropped it during her baseball slide.

"Sorry, I wasn't thinking." Chad replies as he removes the phone from its case. He sees that it is already powered up, still fully charged, and ready to be unlocked.

"What was that explosion? Where are Ethan and Miranda?" Sienna asks Rocki as she helps the girl to her feet.

"They... they're dead." Rocki informs the managers, still barely able to maintain her composure.

"What... how... what happened?" Sienna asks while Chad fiddles with the satellite phone.

"Ethan suggested we split up so as not to give the archer one group of targets. Judging by how fast those arrows hit the door I'd say he was right. Ethan went to turn on the generator while Miranda and I were supposed to go get the phone." Rocki says. "When we got to the door of the main hall Miranda noticed a body floating in the water. From the top of the person's head we thought it might be Popko. Miranda decided to go see if she could save him and told me to get the phone."

Rocki pauses for a moment to collect her thoughts and catch her breath. "Despite my better judgment we all split up. Obviously Ethan got the backup generator going and I reached Chad's room and got the phone. When I exited the main hall... I don't know what happened exactly but the generator shed exploded. The door was still shut so Ethan... he must have still been inside when it blew up." Rocki says. The tears that had been threatening to fall finally did and Rocki began to cry.

"I turned towards the dock to go help Miranda and that's when I saw the killer. They where standing on the dock waiting for her to climb up the ladder. She didn't even make it all the way up the ladder before the killer drove an axe into her skull." Rocki recited.

For the first time since Rocki had known Sienna, she actually saw the human side of the former It Girl. Sienna wrapped her arms around the distraught Roxanne Mahan and did her best to comfort and reassure her. Rocki leaned into Sienna's embrace as she needed the other girls comfort at this moment in time. Rocki sniffled then continued her tale, "The killer turned and saw me standing there... as I had yelled for Miranda just before she was killed. I saw the person go for their bow and I took off for here. I was almost hit by several arrows before you even opened the door... that person is indeed very fast and accurate."

"Chad... is the phone working?" Sienna asked the manager as Rocki's story came to an end. Chad was working from the lantern light as the power was once again gone. His hands were shaking over this situation so he kept mis-keying the passcode to the phone.

"CHAD!" Sienna and Rocki yell at the same time.

Chad finally entered the correct code and the phone unlocks. Chad dials 9-1-1 and listens as the phone rings.

"9-1-1 what is your emergency." The operator on the other line asks calmly.

"Yes... this is Chad Brad Bradley, the operations manager at Camp Forest Green. We have a situation here. We have a killer on the premises, they have killed at least three of my counselors and two more are missing." Chad informs the operator.

Before he can continue the trio hear what sounds like flames coming from the east wall. Rocki moves towards that side of the cabin but as she nears it she feels heat. She doesn't even touch the side of the cabin before the smell of warmed gasoline begins to filter into the cabin.

"He's trying to burn us out." Rocki announces.

"That's it... we're making a run for the cars." Chad says discarding the satellite phone. He knows if they don't act now they won't last until help arrives.

Rocki grabs a dark jacket from Jackson's closet as she hears the rumble of thunder once again. The storm must be moving back in. Chad holds his car keys in his hand and whispers that they go on three. Chad and Sienna quietly moves the dresser blocking the door and the two young women prepare to run. Sienna and Rocki both watch as Chad holds up his clenched hand and then begins raising his fingers...

One...

Two...

THREE!

Chad pulls the door open, not bothering to check the surroundings and dashes for the steps as fast as his legs can carry him. Sienna and Rocki however clasp hands and run out together. They are determined at this point to try and survive the night together. Chad is not thinking clearly and holds his breath as he ascends the steps in great haste. His lungs begin to burn until he finally releases the air he his holding in his lungs. The girls are half way up the stairs when the range cabin creaks and the east wall collapses from fire damage. The two girls take a moment to check their surrounding and after not seeing their assailant take off for the cars.

Despite holding his breath and tiring himself out quicker Chad is still the first to reach the two cars. Sienna's white Mercedes Benz SL is the closest right besides Chad's red Audi R8. The first thing Chad notices is that the passenger side tires on Sienna's car are flat. A quick inspection and Chad sees stab marks on the sidewalls of the tires. Moving over to his car, Chad finds his driver side tires are flat, also stabbed in the sidewalls. Rocki and Sienna reach Chad's position just as the rain starts to fall once again. Chad has the pair move into the main hall and the trio cautiously make their way back up to Chad's room. Once in Rocki turns her flashlight app back on until Chad can find his battery powered lantern. Once light is restored to the room the trio barricade the door which will slow the killer down for the moment.

"I think it's safe to say we won't be able to hide here for long." Rocki states for the record.

"On the plus side he can't burn the building down with the rain going on outside." Sienna counters.

"Yes he can, he just has to start the fire from inside the building." Chad announces. He didn't want to be the voice of doom but they had to be realistic. His realism did not help the mood for the other two people in the room.

"Sooooo what are our options?" Sienna asks.

"We need to find a place to hide until help arrives." Rocki states the obvious.

"With the storm going on we can't realistically expect help until morning. This is a small town, they don't have around the clock police service here you. They will probably send a county sheriff or state trooper and that will take time." Chad Brad Bradley states.

"Then I guess we have to try and fix your flat tires Chad." Rocki declares.

"Small problem, I only have one spare tire." Chad reminds Rocki.

"We can take the spare from Sienna's car and put it on yours. It won't look pretty but it should function well enough to get us out of here." Rocki tells her boss.

"Ok, so how do we do this?" Chad asks.

"Sienna and I will go get her car keys, we run out together, you pop the trunk for your car, grab the jack and tire iron and get the car ready. Sienna and I will get the tires and her tire iron. That way you can start putting your tire on while we do the other." Rocki says. The trio nod their heads in agreement.

It's still dark out, things seem a bit hazy and I can feel the rain dripping on my head as I sift through the rubble of the range cabin. The fire on the east wall rendered the cabin structurally unsound and the roof caved in. There are no bodies in the cabin so they survivors are on the grounds. With my bow in hand and my quiver full of arrows strapped to my back I move quietly to the thickest part of the woods. I don't see or hear any of the other counselors so they must be hiding somewhere in one of the cabins or in the main hall. I will find them...

Rocki and Sienna cautiously open the door from Sienna's room and check their surrounding for any dangers. The pair have collected Sienna's car keys and Sienna took the opportunity to change out of Jackson's clothes and into her own as Jackson's sweats were very loose and tended to slip down. Chad's door opens as well and the trio exit the rooms and make their way quickly but quietly down the stairs. Checking the surroundings outside, the two drivers raise their car remotes. The pair hit the trunk releases and the trio scramble for their assigned cars.

Rocki helps Sienna pull the full sized tire out of the car and place it tread side up. While Sienna grabs the tire iron Rocki rolls the tire towards the rear of Chad's car. Chad has already jacked the car up into position and removed the front tire. He instructs Rocki to begin installing the spare tire while he removes the bad back tire and replacing it with Sienna's spare. He's having a difficult time removing the bolts as the mechanic that last worked on his car used a pneumatic rivet gun to remove and re-install the lug nuts holding the tire in place. Things are further complicated by the cold rain falling on his head, face, hands and the blots.

With the front tire in place Rocki and Sienna head to the back of Chad's car and pull the spare tire from the tire well. Chad finally gets the final bolt off just as the girls get the tire to him. Chad positions the tire and starts to put the lug nuts back on by hand before he tightens them with the tire iron. Rocki's hand falls to her chest as she watches Chad working on his car. "Oh my god... I'll be right back." Rocki declares to the two.

"Wait... he's almost done." Sienna informs Rocki.

"I have to go get something from my cabin... it will take two minutes max." Rocki tells Sienna.

"I'll come with you." Sienna tells Rocki.

"I am leaving as soon as these bolts are secure." Chad Brad Bradley states as he is just about finished tightening the second of four bolts on the rear tire.

"You will not leave without us." Sienna orders the Campground Manager. Her golden locks are dripping with water, the hairs plastered to her face but Chad can clearly see the rage in Sienna's blue eyes.

"Fine... Two minutes. But you'd better hurry." Chad Brad Bradley reluctantly agrees.

Rocki and Sienna race to Rocki's cabin. Pulling the door open they find the one room cabin vacant. Rocki moves to the night stand besides her bed where she knows she will find the one item that she cares about. Nothing else that she brought with her matters. She finds the box containing her necklace exactly where she left it before she took a shower. Quickly removing the simple gold necklace from the box she moves her hair to the left side of her shoulder and puts the necklace on and locks the clasp into place. Tucking the item under her shirt she turns and heads for the door. That is when she hears Chad Brad Bradley reeve the engine to his Audi R8. The headlights of his car come on and Sienna watches from three steps away from the cabin entrance as Chad shifts into reverse and backs the car up and turns the car, then shifts into drive and pulls forward and onto the gravel drive. Sienna runs several steps but is unable to flag Chad down. Chad is beyond caring about anything or anyone at this point in time save himself.

"Forget you and forget this place." Chad Brad Bradley declares as he sees the distraught Sienna in his rearview mirror. Chad puts his foot down on the gas pedal and drives off down the gravel road. He is just about to take the first turn towards the main exit when the car starts to sputter. Chad starts to freak out again when his eye falls to the gas gauge and he watches as it drops rather suddenly from F to E.

As Chad begins to panic his eyes catch a glimpse in the rear view mirror, the sudden spark of a flare being ignited. The figure in black is standing besides the kids cabin, tosses the flare down on to a liquid trail on the gravel road. The flare ignites the trail and fire quickly travels the distance from where the pool started straight to the car that is slowly coming to a halt. Chad sees the fire trail behind and realizes all to late that it is coming straight for him. The car comes to a stop as it runs out of fuel. Unfortunately for Chad the fumes in the leaky gas tank and in the fuel lines catch fire and Sienna and Rocki are helpless to watch as Chad's Audi explodes in a giant fireball.

Sienna sees the figure in black and quickly decides to make a break for Rocki's cabin. Unfortunately she learns what Rocki meant about the archer being fast as she has only taken two steps before an arrow hits her in the left shoulder. Sienna takes another step only to be shot in the right shoulder blade. The pain on her face is evident as the second arrow strikes her and she stumbles as she nears the door. Sienna reaches out for the door handle only to have a third arrow hit her through the heart. The arrow strikes her with such force that it punches into her back, travels through her heart and exits her chest. Sienna's last breath escapes her lungs in a cloud of cold white air as she falls to her knees as her body lifelessly topples forward to the ground.

Rocki Mahan had exited the cabin she once shared with Ann Philips during Chad's premature attempt to escape the campgrounds. The moment she saw the dark figure strike a flare she moved from the doorway into the woods. She wanted to warn Sienna but the assistant manager's foolish attempt to chase after Chad's car had placed the girl in the killer's crosshairs. Rocki was hiding in a large group of bushes, camouflaged by the black hooded jacket she had taken from Jackson's closet. She had drawn the hood closed by the draw strings masking her pale skin but leaving her eyes exposed. She had pulled some of her hair in front of her face and was peering through the strands of hair waiting for the dark figure to leave. Rocki had to muffle her sobs for Sienna as she watched the compassionate young woman struck painfully in each of her shoulders before the final arrow finished her off. The expression of pain and sorrow on Sienna's face was evident as her eyes rolled into her head just before her body fell to the ground.

The archer strode past Rocki's hiding spot into her cabin. She heard the person toss things about for a few minutes before once more exiting. She could see that the person was trying to decide where to go next. With the rain still falling the killer turns to the right and darts off. When Rocki can no longer see the person she breaths a sigh of relief into her arm so her breath isn't visible to anyone looking for her. Rocki sits very still and tries her best to listen to her environment. The problem of course is that the raindrops falling on the leaves make that incredibly difficult. Daring to take a quick look at her cellphone to see the time, Rocki sees that it is still very early in the morning and she is feeling incredibly tired. She closes her eyes and sighs one last time before she hears a twig snap from behind her setting her nerves on edge and her pulse racing. Rocki gasps as she feels something metal at the base of her throat.

To Be Concluded.


	5. Chapter 5

Rocki's pulse is racing as she manages to deftly escapes the grip of the dark figure and dashes from her hiding spot in the woods and makes her way to the main hall. Reaching the door, she swinging the screen door wide open, closes and locks the main door, and ducks down while she darts along the front wall and heads to the right side hallway. The mat on the wooden floor absorbs her foot prints until she reaches the side hallway. Taking off her wet shoes, Rocki ducks down then she maneuvers into the shadows of the kitchen hallway. As soon as she reaches the kitchen Rocki hears a thump, followed by another thump, and then another until the lock on the front door finally gives. The screen door squeaks as it swings shut. Rocki covers her mouth and attempts to slow her breathing as she listens to what the killer is doing. She is not sure if the other person has a flashlight or cellphone with a light but knows that if they do that she will have enough time to react as the light will hit the hallway before they turn the bend and she can work with that. She hears the person's heavy footsteps on the stairs, despite trying to be somewhat quiet the boots have thick soles and due to their clothes being wet the person weighs more than they would dry and it is affecting their movement.

Rocki waits until she hears the footsteps reach the second floor hallway before she moves to the backdoor and carefully turns the knob She hears the killer pounding on the door to Chad's room, which he locked and Rocki uses this moment to slips out the backdoor. Once outside Rocki takes a moment to breath normally again while she comes up with a plan. Seeing the grill, Rocki takes the keys to the padlocks that are hanging on the keyholder and unlocks the grill. She carefully moves the grill with as little noise as possible and wedges it against the door. The chains that hold it in place for heavy winds are just long enough that she can re-lock the grill and no one should be able to push it out of the way of the backdoor. Rocki creeps into the forest as the rain is slowing down and hopefully coming to a stop.

This bitch is dead... this bitch is soooo DEAD! The killer thinks as they finish checking the closet on the second floor of the main hall. Everything had been going according to plan right up until I killed Miranda. Everything had been calculated to the letter and nothing had gone wrong. Sure Rocki made it into the cabin, that had not been planned, she just got really lucky with that baseball slide at the last moment. The one wrinkle in the plan came with the introduction of the satellite telephone. The phone lines were cut just before Ann's body dropped for all to see along with the power lines. Having borrowed everyone's cell phone during the time they were all alive and well, I knew for a fact that none of them had cellular service at this location. How was I supposed to anticipate a FUCKING satellite phone!

Closing the closet door I make my way down the stairs, checking to make sure that the little bitch hasn't doubled back to the main hall and is hiding in a dark corner. Moving my black Recurve bow about as it has a tactical flashlight attached to it, I make sure that the corners are empty. Ann's body is still hanging from the banister... I knew these losers wouldn't touch it. As I move down the side hallway to the kitchen I run through how everything was back on track. I had drained three quarters of the gas from Sienna and Chad's cars and used that gas to set the range cabin ablaze. I had already punctured the gas tanks of their cars and rigged them so whichever car they ended up using to escape in would leave a trail fuel once they traveled far enough to pull the stoppers out. I was standing besides the kids cabin waiting to ignite their gas trail and blow the counselors to hell.

Once again, Rocki Mahan was the reason my plan did not go as anticipated. She ran back to her cabin and Sienna followed her. Chad decided to leave the two behind and sprung the trap by himself. I was forced to kill just him and then turn my bow on his girlfriend. I give her credit, she tried to make it to safety... but failed.

The killer in black moves about the kitchen checking every possible place that Rocki could be hiding. When the killer is sure that her prey is not inside they move to the back door. Turning the knob the killer finds the door will not push open. Looking out the side window, the killer's obstructed face sees that the grill is currently wedged against the door and that it has been chained shut.

"Ohhh I'm sooo going to enjoy killing this bitch." The killer says aloud as they turn to head for the front door.

Rocki looks at her dimly lit cellphone screen to see that it has been ninety minutes since Chad called 9-1-1 emergency number. She hoped that help was on the way but like Chad had stated, help might not get here until the morning which was still a good six hours away. Thanks to Rocki's dark clothes and Jackson's black waterproof jacket she was camouflaged quite nicely and using a black garbage bag that she had silently swiped from the kitchen to cover her legs and stay nice and dry. Currently huddled up like a ball in a thick bunch of bushes Rocki felt safe for the first time since Ann's body dropped from the second floor. She knew better than to let her guard down, but at the very least she wouldn't be spotted by anything less than a very bright flood light. Rocki sat huddled saying a silent prayer as she listened to the rain drops falling from the trees above striking the bushes and her coat in the early morning hour.

Two times, I've combed through these cabins two fucking times! The killer thinks as they stand in the center of the path to the camp. The flames from Chad Brad Bradley's fiery wreak had long since been extinguished by the rain as had the remains of the generator explosion. The range cabin was uninhabitable, the kids cabins were clear but not great for hiding in anyways. All of the counselors cabins were tossed so she couldn't be hiding anywhere in there. The main hall was the most logical place to hide but it too had been checked and re-checked. I even set up little tricks to tell if the raven haired girl had made her way back to get something from the main hall, she had not. That just left the woods. If she was hiding in the woods she could be anywhere. She might even have tried walking for the main road but that seemed highly unlikely until now because the rain had just stopped. I've got to kill that little bitch and soon!

Rocki had dozed off, barely ninety minutes had passed, but the only rain falling now was from the drops coming off the tree leaves. The tired but determined to survive young woman listens very closely for several long minutes to make sure there is no movement besides her. Her vantage point only gives her a view of the cabins on the guys side, the back of the main hall and the back of the girls side cabins. That was enough though as Rocki caught the silhouette of the killer moving about in the moonlight. She could sense the rage in the methodical killer as they were flashing a small tactical light along the brush trying to find her. She was deep enough in the woods that the light would not allow the killer to see her through the foliage. Rocki watched as the beam of light panned from left to right and back again. The sound of a crack from the opposite side of the cabin sends the killer scampering off in the direction of the archery range. Rocki waits for the person to clear her line of sight before she looks at the time on her phone. It is 1:32 AM. Rocki checks her alarm and seeing it is set for 2:00 AM huddles back up.

I heard her... I know I heard her. I found the branch she broke, probably stumbling while she slowly changed position. She's tired... I know she is. I've ingested two Red Bull energy drinks myself already to help keep myself alert while I've spent the last few hours looking for her. I hear rustling a good twenty feet to my left... looks like she's heading back to the range cabin, probably going to try and bury herself in the rumble to buy her some time... it won't work.

I'm alerted to the time by my cellphone silently vibrating on my left wrist. I managed to dose off for the another twenty plus minutes. Rocki thinks to herself as she once again looks about. She looks and waits to make sure nothing is around her. Shutting her phone off, Rocki slowly gets to her feet and makes her way to the tool shed where she carefully slides into the shed Just inside the door she finds the object she is looking for... a black bladed machete. I place my thumb on the blade and can feel how sharp the weapon is without applying much pressure. Collecting my strength I check my surrounding to make sure I'm not going to get shot in the back before I make it to the lake.

Rocki creeps out of the shed, machete in her hand, and quietly closes the door. She moves along the siding of main hall and peers around the corner and sees the coast is clear. Rocki darts from her spot to the back of the cabin that Ethan and Popko resided in. Planting herself against the wall, she does her best to quietly inhale and exhale. The air is super cool from all the rain and she can see her breath looking like puffs of smoke. Holding her breath once more, Rocki darts forward to the next cabin, this one for the boys that would have been attending summer camp. Twenty feet, I just have to make twenty feet. Rocki thinks to herself.

Taking in another couple of breaths Rocki lifts the machete, places it against the left side of her body and runs at her target... the canoe rack. Jackson, Ethan, Popko and Chad had all tied down the canoes just before dinner on Thursday and the only thing holding them on the racks were ropes. As soon as she was within reach Rocki swung the bladed object in her right hand and managed to cut through the rope in one swipe. The rope fell apart and the three canoes facing Rocki made a loud crash as the top most canoe slid off the rack once the tension from the rope was gone and struck the one under it. Rocki pulls on the bottom most canoe and tries to pull it into the water. As she does so she is suddenly blasted by four bright flood lights. The lights are small handheld types mounted on four points bathing the area by the canoes and the dock in light. Rocki can barely see, the light is so bright but the figure in black comes into view. They have their bow pointed at her, arrow loaded and draw string pulled back ready to fire at their raven haired adversary.

"I wondered how long you would take to try and escape this way. It was either the water or the main drive." The electronically altered voice informs Rocki Mahan.

Rocki stands firm, machete in hand but knows that she won't get the chance to use it with the killer well out of reach.

"You couldn't have just let me kill you at the range cabin... and you ruined my plan with the car explosion. After chasing through the camp for you all night... I'm going to enjoy making you suffer." The killer states to Rocki.

"Who are you? Rocki asks pointing the machete at the killer.

The killer moves in closer to Rocki but not close enough that she can reach her mystery assailant before she would get shot by an arrow. Rocki watches as the killer removes the arrow currently ready to shoot and places it arrowhead down into the ground. The killer can still reach and shoot it before Rocki could close the distance so she keeps herself planted as she watches the person before her press something around their neck, then removes the voice changer placing it in their coat. The killer then reaches with their free hand and first pulls back their hood and once its pulled back reaches for the bottom of their balaclava and rips it off in one swift move.

"You..." Rocki says in absolute astonishment.

The killer is standing unmasked but silent. They have already reached down, picked up their arrow and reloaded the bow. The killer has pulled back the draw string is ready to be release the arrow.

"It's not possible... How can it be you?" Rocki asks.

Rocki's tormentor just stands there silently smirking at her.

"Answer me..." Rocki yells.

"Watch your tone bitch... least you forget who has the upper hand." The killer reminds Rocki Mahan.

Ann Phillips stands about twelve feet from where Rocki is, bow loaded and ready to shoot at a moments notice. Despite the fact that her room mate is standing several feet in front of her Rocki is still having a hard time believing who she is seeing.

"How are you alive? We heard you screaming and then saw you die." Rocki reminds the girl.

"What you heard was a recording." The blonde informs Rocki. "What you saw was a staged performance. I dropped Ann Phillips' lifeless body from the second floor and you all thought I was dead."

"Wait... you dropped Ann Phillips... but you're Ann Phillips." Rocki says out loud.

"No Rocki... my name is Jessica Phillips, Ann's sister. However I was born Jessica Kimble." Jessica tells Rocki. "My mother was Diane Kimble, the original Camp Forest Green killer. My biological mother killed the negligent camp counselors that caused my brother's death in 1995."

Rocki moves two steps to her left which prompts Jessica to adjust her position as well. "Why are you doing this? None of us had anything to do with your brother's death?" Asks Rocki.

"This place is responsible for nothing but suffering. Once I learned the truth I took up the responsibility of making sure no one ever came here again. Ann was supposed to be the cook here for the summer. I've been coming to this place to learn the area. Because no one had seen her with the exception of Chad's father and we look so much alike it was so simple. While she took a Greyhound bus I drove directly here and arrived before she did. When she showed up in town I intercepted her, hunted her down, and killed her before anyone even knew she was here."

"You killed your own sister... because of your birth mother's ideology?" Rocki asked not believing what she was hearing.

"Of course I did. I never felt like I belonged in the Phillips family. They never told me the truth about me... where I came from. My adoptive parents hid the truth from me... but I found out anyways. I met my birth mother just after my eighteenth birthday. She told me everything, where I came from, about this place and what happened here. She told me to keep it from opening. No one was to ever come back here again... but if they did... so they had to die." Jessica rants.

"So you went about killing everyone... even Jackson?" Rocki inquires.

Jessica smirk gets bigger as she says, "I killed Popko down on the dock the first night we arrived. He was listening to music so loud he never heard me coming. I caved in his skull and used his body to anchor the raft in place. But I Jerry-rig a way to get his body to the surface for later use. You were gone so long that first night that I changed into my dark clothes, killed Popko, made it back in time to change again and pretend to head out for my date. You gave me the perfect alibi." Jessica tells Rocki.

Rocki can see the evil in Jessica's eyes. She had never noticed it before, this girl was very good at suppressing her true nature, she thinks to herself. "What about Tori... what did you do with her?"

"Tori is currently in a spike pit about fifteen feet past the range cabin. Dozens of wooden spikes are perforating her body. I chose her specifically for that trap after the two of you tried to drive a wedge between Jackson and I during the dinner cookout."

"You killed her because she sent me to spend time with Jackson?" Rocki repeated in the form of a question. She really couldn't believe what she was hearing.

"She was dead the moment she arrived here... I just took greater pleasure in giving her one of the worst deaths." Jessica states.

"What about your sister... how did you pull that one off?"

"Ann arrived in the area on Tuesday but I was already here having driven up in a beater SUV that I purchased just for this plan. My sister was so engrossed in the beauty of this place that she didn't look past my glasses and dark ball cap. I drugged her, took her to a hunting cabin nearby, let her loose and then hunted her down. In the end I put an arrow through her spinal cord. She died never even knowing that it was I that killed her." Jessica tells Rocki.

"And you used her body to fake your death." Rocki says.

"It was a lot more involved getting her into position and set up for her death scene... but yes. I used her body to fake my death. I kept her body on ice until it was needed. Jerry-rigging the generator to blow up was a simple matter of some gunpowder and rigging the starter to spark at a given time. Likewise I put a flotation device on Popko to trick Miranda into the water setting her up for her kill. I don't think we have to cover Chad and Sienna as you were close enough to see what happened. I'll just say that I drained the gas tank and put a stopper in place until the moment I was ready to blow the car."

"WHAT DID YOU DO WITH JACKSON!" Rocki screams at the psychotic blonde girl.

"Ahh yes... your ex. I drugged his drink during dinner and kept him occupied in the evening till the drug started kicking in. We both knew you had seen us, it was part of my plan. I'm guessing he passed out in the bathroom, its been locked since just before the storm. When he wakes up I will blame all of this on my sister, I will take her place and Jackson and I will live happily ever after. I have to pretend to be Ann for the rest of my life but I can live with that."

"So your plan is to just plant your ID on your sister's body? Won't your parents be able to tell the difference?" Rocki asks taking another step to the left. She watches as Jessica follows suit once more never taking her eye off of Rocki.

"That would be an issue if my adoptive parents were still alive. I killed them after Ann left the house for camp. No, I am the only person who can identify my sister's body." Jessica informs Rocki.

Realizing now was the time, Rocki says, "I don't suppose you want to drop the weapons and do this hand to hand?"

"Ohhh no. After everything you've put me through over the last few hours... I'm going to enjoy turning you into a human pincushion." Jessica tells Rocki.

"I think you should know two things before we do this." Rocki states as she stares down the deranged woman.

"Oh yeah... what's that?" Jessica asks.

"Firstly... you are the stupidest person I've ever met. You killed a family that loved and raised you as one of their own all for a family you never really knew. You truly deserve what you're about to get." Rocki says holding the machete up like she was about to swing it at Jessica.

"And the second?" Jessica wonders as she prepares to release her arrow.

"You've seriously underestimated the love a husband has for his wife." Rocki tells the psychotic witch.

Reaching into her shirt with her left hand, Rocki slowly removes the necklace she had risked her life to go back for. Attached to the necklace were Rocki's engagement and wedding rings that her husband, Jackson Fuller had given to her.

"Husband... wife?" Jessica repeats. The confused expression on her face suddenly changes to one of pain and anguish as an arrow strikes her in the center of her spine.

Jessica Kimble arches forward after being struck and she loses her grip on her bow and the arrow loaded in it. She falls forward on to her knees and is trying to reach for the arrow lodged in her back. She manages to pull it free but as she rights herself her eyes fall on Roxanne Mahan who is now within arms reach of her. Jessica hears the metal blade traveling through the air and feels the initial cut of the blade into her neck and then nothing as the blade severs her spinal cord before completely severing her head from her shoulders. The expression on Rocki's face is one of anguish as she has now had to do something that she never thought she would have to. She has claimed a human life. She hears but does not really register Jackson Fuller until he is taking the machete from her hand and placing it in the sheathe it came in.

Jackson Fuller helps Rocki to her feet and slowly leads his distraught wife back to the main hall. They make their way up the stairs and go to Sienna's room. Jackson sees powder on the door knob, probably so Jessica would know if someone had touched the door knob. Jackson and Rocki barricade themselves in Sienna's room, weapon's positioned on each side of them on the off chance someone was assisting Jessica and they wanted to finish what she had started. Rocki snuggles into Jackson's warm embrace for the first time since Thursday night when they secretly showered together at the end of the day. Rocki reaches behind her neck and unhooks the necklace and removes the rings she had to go back for just before Chad's car exploded. The rings once belonged to Jackson's grandmother Pamela Tanner. Jackson had gotten it from his grandfather who was the only person that knew the pair had eloped Monday before they came to camp. Holding the rings in the palm in her hand, Jackson takes it from her palm and taking Rocki's left hand, returns them to her ring finger.

As she looked at the symbol of their commitment to one another, finally back where it belonged, Rocki knew that their lives had changed again. Rocki was no longer going to allow other people to dictate and control their lives. She and Jackson were in love, and even if they had to live ins squalor, their love was worth fighting for. Rocki places her left hand and head on Jackson's chest. She listens to his heart beat and feeling safe and secure for the first time all night. Rocki quickly falls into a relaxed sleep as Jackson watches over her.

The state police arrive at Camp Forest Green at 7:32 AM. The police see the remains of Chad's Audi R8. His burnt husk of a body is visible and the lead trooper gives instructions to come back for that one. State Police sent four cars with eight troopers. The last car is already calling for a tow truck to collect the remains of Chad's car and take it in for forensics to go over. The county corner is also alerted to report to the campground. The four cars pull in and begin searching the cabins starting with the main hall. Four troopers comb the first floor while the other four take the second floor. The troopers call out announcing their presence at which time they hear movement from behind the second door on the right. Jackson Fuller comes out slowly, his Recurve bow has been broken down and is currently in his quiver with his arrows. The quiver is in his left hand being held by the shoulder strap. Rocki comes out next and has the sheathed machete. The weapon is taped around the sheathe and Rocki is holding the item by its handle. The police lead the two survivors outside where their things are taken by a trooper. An ambulance is on sight and the two are quickly ushered in to be checked out and attended to by physicians. Rocki rests her head on her husband as the back doors to the emergency vehicle are closed and the pair drive away from the Camp and their harrowing experience.

The End

AN: While this is the end of Cruel Summer I have two more parts to this story. Cruel Beginnings is a prequel story that fills in some of the early gaps of this story on 10/27. Cruel Summer: Happy Endings is the epilogue to the story three days later.


End file.
